China will further expand high-standard opening-up: VP

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng meets with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group Rodolphe Saade in Marseille, France, July 24, 2024. [Photo by Pang Xinglei/Xinhua]

MARSEILLE, France, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China will further expand high-level opening-up and continue to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said Wednesday in France's port city of Marseille.

When meeting with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group Rodolphe Saade, Han noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his successful state visit to France in May, conducted in-depth exchanges with French President Emmanuel Macron, and the two heads of state reached broad consensus that provided strategic guidance for the development of China-France and China-EU relations.

Han said that the CMA CGM Group, as a supporter, promoter and beneficiary of economic globalization and free trade, has been deeply involved in the Chinese market over the years, carrying out good cooperation with Chinese companies and making important contributions to deepening China-France economic and trade cooperation.

For more than 40 years, China has adhered to the basic national policy of reform and opening-up, and has developed itself and benefited the world through opening-up, Han said. He welcomed companies from all over the world, including CMA CGM Group, to invest and seek development in China.

Warmly welcoming Han's visit to the CMA CGM Group, Saade said his group attaches great importance to cooperation with China.

China's development offers massive opportunities, Saade said, adding that the CMA CGM Group looks forward to forging closer cooperation with Chinese partners in various areas including energy transformation, artificial intelligence and the development of robots, achieving win-win cooperation and promoting the development of France-China relations.

Benoit Payan, mayor of Marseille, said he was honored that Han chose to pay a visit to the city. As a sister city of China's Shanghai, Marseille is willing to play a bridging role in sister city cooperation and subnational exchanges to help further expand and deepen France-China relations in the new era, Payan added.

Headquartered in Marseille, the CMA CGM Group is France's largest and the world's third-largest container shipping group.

CMA CGM (China) Shipping Co. Ltd. was set up in Shanghai in 1992. It currently has more than 20,000 employees and is the first wholly French-owned shipping company in China.

During his stay in Marseille, Han also visited industrial projects of local features. 

This combo photo shows Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng paying a visit to the headquarters of the CMG CGM Group in Marseille, France, July 24, 2024. Han met with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group Rodolphe Saade here on Wednesday. [Photo by Pang Xinglei/Xinhua]