Recently China-France relations have dropped to a low point, and China is not to blame.

However, in reality, the “honeymoon period" between the two countries was not that long ago. Wu Jianmin, currently a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University and the honorary president of the International Exhibitions Bureau, and the Chinese ambassador to France during the honeymoon period, has much to say with regards to issues including China-France relations.

On February 16, reporters interviewed Wu regarding the current situation and future development of China-France relations.

Chirac recognized the inevitability of China’s rise

China Youth Daily: When you were the Chinese ambassador to France from 1998 to 2003, China-France relations entered its best period in history so to speak. During that time, the two heads of state visited one another's hometowns, and activities including China-France Culture Year were held. We have learned that the French President at the time, Jacques Chirac himself was very keen on Chinese culture. What was the background for the sound development of China-France relations at that time? Why did bilateral relations reach such closeness?

Wu Jianmin: Before Jacques Chirac was elected French President, there were twists and turns in the relationship between China and France. The French Social Party government in power at the time sold arms to Taiwan. After the arms sale, China-France relations dropped to a low. That was the lowest point in diplomatic relations between the two countries following their establishment in 1964.

Afterwards, during the general election held in France in 1993, the opposing party won the majority, and Francois Mitterrand became President and Edouard Balladur took the office of Premier. At the time, Chirac paid close attention to China-France relations. He actively promoted relations with China by sending a special envoy there to talk with the Chinese. President Mitterrand supported the visit.

China and France were on bad terms during that period, and economic cooperation between the two countries was greatly affected. In 1995, after Chirac was elected President, the situation underwent a drastic change. President Chirac had a good understanding of Chinese culture and China. After visiting the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, China, he believed the site was the eighth wonder of the world, and it became a world-renowned attraction. He appreciated a bronze exhibition co-sponsored by the city of Shanghai and a French company, and spent an hour and a half browsing the exhibit with keen pleasure.

In my opinion, there were several reasons why China-France relations were so good during President Chirac’s tenure. Firstly, Chirac himself understood Chinese culture and the importance of China. He believed that from a historical perspective, China was rising. Each day prior to going to bed, he would read a few pages from books on China, in particular on Chinese culture. This is something he had began doing since childhood.

Where did President Chirac's interest in Chinese culture come from? He once explained to me that during his childhood he used to skip school. Where did he go then? He went to the Guimet Museum, one of the well-known museums in Paris, and the more he lingered there, the more impressed he was. Over the decades, the passion in his heart for eastern cultures and for Chinese culture grew stronger and stronger. The understanding of the culture of a country could help him better understand the people of that country. He knew that thousands of years of Chinese civilization had created the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. He realized that it is not accidental that China has become so powerful today, something which could only have been achieved with the support of a strong Chinese culture. Therefore, he believed that China's rise was inevitable.

In addition, there are two kinds of views regarding the direction in which the world should develop. One is that the world should be unilateral, with one country ruling the whole world. The other is that the world should be multilateral, with every country, large or small, having the right to speak. Obviously, President Chirac was a supporter of the second view, believing that a world manipulated by one country would by no means be safe. This therefore was a common position shared by China and France on that issue. Both hoped to build a multilateral world.

To reiterate, the reasons for the healthy relationship between China and France at that time were threefold. First, with the development of the international situation, China and France had a lot in common with regards to what kind of a world should be built. Second, with the rise of China, the common interests of the two countries increased and China cooperated more with France than with other countries, especially in the cutting-edge fields. Third, it was due to the leaders of both countries.

Sarkozy’s public support falls from majority to minority

CYD: Does that mean that the personal likes and dislikes of national leaders have certain influences on bilateral relations? If that is the case, do you think the current stalemate in China-France relations is related to French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s personality? Did you have any contact with him during your stay in France? What kind of person is he in your eyes?

Wu: Of course it is related. As the head of state leading a nation, his understanding of some questions, as well as his likes and dislikes, will no doubt influence national governance.

I did have contact with President Sarkozy, quite a lot of contact. When I took office in France in November 1998, he was the mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine (a small town in Paris’ suburbs —reporter’s note) where the Chinese ambassador’s residence is located. After I arrived, Sarkozy held a cocktail party for me. After this, we had more and more interaction. Sometimes I would invite him for dinner, and sometimes he would invite me for dinner. After a period of time, he suggested having a one-on-one talk. In Western diplomacy, a one-on-one talk is a way to hold an in-depth conversation. As there are no third parties present, any topic can be discussed. We had several one-on-one talks, mainly discussing our views on the situation in France and China as well as international conditions. He really wanted to understand China. Sarkozy once told me: Chinese people did not forget me when I was in the most difficult of political times.

Sarkozy was a rising star in France’s political circles. The impression he gave me was that he was eager to win, very intelligent and anxious to get things done.

As for why China-France relations have ended up in the situation they are in today, I think the reasons are as follows:

The first reason is the current difficulties, in other words, the changes to the broader international climate. One of the important changes to the world is that the center of international relations is moving from the Atlantic to the Pacific, this is the largest change in international relations in the past few hundred years. Europe and America have been at the center of the world for hundreds of years, but this is already changing. During this change, the status of Asia has been rising, while that of Europe is correspondingly declining. So, Europe’s sense of loss is one of the reasons.

The second reason is the change in presidency. Overall, Sarkozy won a landslide victory in the presidential election. On November 24 2008, however, Sarkozy admitted that he made a mistake during a press conference. He was very popular with the general public when he was elected as president. Nevertheless, his public support rate dropped drastically a couple of months later. He was very nervous, changing from a strong president to a weak one. Therefore, it was in his weak position that he paid particular attention to public opinion.

Some French media had terrible attitudes toward China while reporting on the Beijing Olympics and the torch relay. In fact, a great many French people do not understand the Tibet issue, and do not even know where Tibet is. Too many one-sided statements by the media, however, made people unaware of the truth. Such public opinion had a certain impact on the actions of Sarkozy, as he had to follow so-called public opinion. With regards to the Tibet issue, Western media’s discrimination toward China runs very deep, this is a fact.

Therefore, in my opinion, there are several reasons: changes to the broader international climate, the presidency, the president’s status and the circumstances of the president. Moreover, there is a gap between the president and his predecessor in terms of the understanding of both China, and the issue of Tibet. For this reason, some problems have appeared. It is quite clear that responsibility for the difficulties that have occurred should not be borne by China, since they were not caused by China.

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