Vice Governor of Guangdong Li Chunsheng and Consul General of France in Guangzhou Siv Leng Chhuor and other VIPs from France and Guangdong attended a July 12 reception celebrating French National Day.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of China-France diplomatic ties, the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Work-Study Movement in France, and also the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. In his speech, Li Chunsheng said that Guangdong has concluded a host of successful agreements with France in areas such as economy, trade, sic-tech, education and culture.

Last year, the former French Prime Minister M. Jean-Pierre Raffarin personally took partin the documentary Through the Eyes of International Political Figures: A Return on the Achievements of Guangdong Through 40 Years of Reform and Opening, and used his own experience to make the world aware of Guangdong’s great achievements.

This year, Guangdong and the China Cultural Center in Paris successfully launched the annual cooperation to introduce Chinese ink painting, modern dance, cuisine, Cantonese opera, poetry and lyrical dance to France, due to the contribution and support of the French consulate in Guangzhou.

Li Chunsheng said that Guangdong is developing the Greater Bay Area and hopes that France will be able to participate and seize commercial opportunities offered by the GBA development and make greater contribution to Sino-French relations.

Siv Leng CHHUOR also shared examples of the cooperation between the two regions in the areas of high-tech, sustainable development and culture. The commissioning of the 1st European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) at the end of 2018 for the Taishan nuclear power plant, the largest Sino-French project in the energy field, is the first major bilateral program of industrial cooperation between Guangdong and France.

The Croisements Festival, which ended on July 6, also spawned artistic encounters such as the co-production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Guangzhou Opera House. And the upcoming 6th Franco-Chinese Month of the Environment embodies the Chinese-French cooperation in the fight against global warming.

Author: Monica Liu

Editor: Chris, Olivia