French Prime Minister Manuel Valls promised Chinese investors "the best welcome in all of Europe" as his Beijing counterpart wrapped up a visit in which he signed billions of euros in accords with France. [Special coverage]
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang inked more than 50 deals on his four-day visit to France which rolled out the red carpet in a bid to boost ties with China and breathe life back into its own struggling economy.
"Today I want to send this message to Chinese business leaders: Come and set up in France," Valls told a Franco-Chinese summit in the southern city of Toulouse, promising "the best welcome in all of Europe".
"Chinese investment in France represents 4 billion euros and no less than 13,000 jobs. It is a lot but we can do much better," said Valls.
Li assured French businesses of China's economic prospect and invited them to invest in the world's second-largest economy.
"The Chinese economy is generally stable in the first six months. We have confidence in achieving the goal of around 7 percent growth for the whole year," he said.
"The French business community can be assured that there is great potential in the Chinese market and great flexibility in the economy," he said.
Li wrapped up his visit in Toulouse with a visit to the headquarters of European aerospace giant Airbus, after a Chinese company placed an order for 45 A330s with an option for 30 more in a deal worth $18 billion.
The sale is linked to a deal in which Airbus will set up a center at its base in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin where the aircraft can be customized.
The two countries signed a further 3.5 billion euros in accords yesterday in addition to billions of euros in credit and financing deals.
Tourism group Pierre and Vacances signed a deal to develop holiday villages in China and the Schneider Electric energy firm sealed a contract estimated at 500 million euros with the China National Building Material Company on the management of energy consumption in its buildings and factories.
France and China inked a deal to work together in the civil nuclear industry and also signed what Paris said was a "historic" deal to work together in emerging economies in Africa and Asia.
Alcatel-Lucent landed two framework agreements to supply Chinese groups operating mainly in Africa with telecommunications equipment valued at 1.3 billion euros.
In addition, China recognized "Bordeaux" as a legally protected brand in a bid to combat counterfeit wines after a four-year struggle with France.
