France's foreign minister on board with Belt and Road plan

Want China Times, Xinhua and Staff Reporter 2015-06-15

Laurent Fabius holds a football at the French embassy in Beijing, May 15.
France is the host of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament. (File photo/CNS)

France's foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, has expressed hope that the economic and tourism cooperation between France and China can be deepened in the context of Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiatives.

Fabius made the remarks at a forum organized by the French Regional Council of Haute-Normandie, saying the initiatives of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road "open new perspectives" for green growth and will create new economic opportunities. "We need to go, China and France, together," he said.

The minister said France and China can advance their cooperation in exploring third-party markets.

Fabius also expressed hope that Normandy in northern France, an area rich in tourism and commercial resources, will benefit from the initiatives, seizing the opportunity of the "exponential" growth of Chinese investment and Chinese tourism.

The annual number of Chinese tourists to France is expected to increase from 2 million to 5 million in the coming three years. It's also believed that there is huge potential for growth in Chinese investment in France.