After the meeting with top officials on Sunday, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that they want a more “balanced” trade Relationship and better access to the Chinese market. France is not expecting a “Decoupling” from China.
A day After the Constructive trade talks with Vice Premier He Lifeng, in the press conference, Le Maire said, “We don’t want to face some legislative hurdles or some other barriers to get access to the Chinese markets.”
He said, “This of course was at the core of our discussions”. “We want to get better access and a more balanced access to the Chinese market.”
In a meeting held on Saturday, he said that China hoped France could “stabilise the tone” of EU-China ties, while Beijing was ready to expand cooperation with Paris in various areas.
In response to what the Group of Seven refers to as China’s “economic coercion”, European officials have frequently stated that they did not wish to decouple from China but to “De-risk”.
Le Maire said, “Derisking does not mean that China is a risk.” “Derisking means that we want to be more independent and that we don’t want to face any risk in our supply chains if there would be a new crisis, like the COVID one with the total breakdown of some of the value chains.”
The third-largest trading partner of France is China, but there is an increase in concern among French firms that the growing rivalry between Washington and Beijing could get them caught in the crossfire.
Le Maire said that France has its own strategies and is working with Europe to better target France’s and Europe’s EV subsidies. The measure is taken to boost competitiveness. This was said in response to the concern raised by some European automakers about China’s low-cost electric vehicles flooding the European markets.
He added that Chinese companies investing and developing in Europe would be “a very good thing”. He said, “We stand ready to have Chinese investments of the automotive industry in France and in Europe.”
France is opening the doors for better access for French Cosmetics to the Chinese market, and France is on the right track, said Le Maire.
