To deepen the practical cooperation between China and France, Mayor Gong Zheng led the Shanghai delegation to visit Marseille, Lyon and Paris, France
In order to thoroughly implement the consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and President Macron on further developing China-France relations, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, and to deepen the implementation of a series of new measures announced by President Xi Jinping to deepen China-France cooperation with practical actions, and to build a China-France relationship of mutual trust, stability, adherence to the right path and innovation, and responsibility and action in the new era, from September 13 to 17, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng led a Shanghai delegation to visit Marseille, Lyon and Paris, France.
During the visit, Gong Zheng met with Marseille Mayor Benoit Payant, attended a roundtable dialogue with French entrepreneurs, and had in-depth exchanges with heads of several French companies. Taking the China-France Cultural Tourism Year as an opportunity, we will deepen the implementation of the relevant contents of the China-France Joint Statement and support the cooperation between the West Bund Art Museum in Shanghai and the Pompidou Center to hold high-level events. During his visit to Lyon, Gong Zheng also attended the official reception of the organizing committee of the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, China, the closing ceremony of the 47th WorldSkills Competition and the flag handover ceremony.
When meeting with Marseille Mayor Payan, Gong Zheng said that Marseille is one of the cities with the closest and most active exchanges among Shanghai's international friendly cities. He hoped that the two sides would further strengthen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, industry, ports, culture and tourism. For example, on the basis of the friendly ports that have been established between Shanghai Port and Marseille Port, the two places will continue to promote cooperation in port planning, smart shipping, port and shipping services, etc. French companies are welcome to make good use of the CIIE platform to actively expand the Chinese market, and hope to take the opening of the "Shanghai-Marseille" route, China's first regular flight directly to southern France, as an opportunity to strengthen personnel exchanges between the two places and promote cultural exchanges.
During his stay in Paris, Gong Zheng attended a roundtable dialogue with French entrepreneurs and listened carefully to the opinions and suggestions of business leaders on investment and trade, technological innovation, green transformation, etc. He said that Shanghai is accelerating the construction of the "five centers", cultivating and developing new quality productivity, and focusing on deepening high-level reform and opening up, providing huge opportunities for French companies. Shanghai will continue to optimize the business environment and welcome more French companies to invest in Shanghai and share development opportunities.
During his visit to France, Gong Zheng also attended the launching ceremony of the second round of the five-year exhibition cooperation project between the West Bund Art Museum in Shanghai and the Pompidou Center, conducted on-site research into the CMA CGM Group headquarters and the Port of Marseille, visited the New Franco-Sino University of Lyon, and held separate discussions with the heads of companies including BioMérieux, Club Med, and Accor Group to gain a comprehensive understanding of the companies' operations and development in Shanghai.
Deputy Mayor Chen Jie, Chinese Embassy in France Minister Chen Li, Acting Consul General in Marseille Shi Yuli, Acting Consul General in Lyon Li Zhenping and others attended the relevant activities respectively.
