Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang met Edouard Philippe, prime minister of France, and his delegation on June 23.

Li welcomed his guests and said France is the first developed Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China and the two countries' bilateral relations have been on the rise ever since.

This January, Emmanuel Macron, president of France, visited China and met President Xi Jinping and they reached important consensus. Li believed the prime minister’s current visit will help promote implementation of the agreement reached by the two countries’ top leaders.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s opening-up and reforms. As the country’s biggest economic center, Shanghai is working hard to further improve local people’s livelihood. The city has frequent exchanges with France, especially its Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Region and Marseille.

Li hoped the two countries can broaden cooperation in technology, education, cultural industry, tourism, ports’ construction, and fashion industry. This November Shanghai will host the first China International Import Expo and the city welcomes French companies to participate in the expo and share business opportunities.

Philippe said France and China have a long history of friendship and the consensus reached by the two countries’ top leaders have charted a road map for the Sino-France strategic partnership.

He hoped that the two countries can strengthen the cooperation in cultural industry, educationand trade.

Zhuge Yujie, secretary-general of the CPC Shanghai Committee, and Chen Qun, vice mayor of Shanghai, also attended the meeting.

Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang meetsEdouard Philippe, prime minister of France.