A French government commission recommends Paris firm up its ties with Beijing

China has resumed its place in the international front row and its economic power means it is vital for France to consolidate its relationship with Beijing, according to a report from a French government body headed by former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

"Beijing's dynamics can no longer be viewed as local or regional. China has retaken its place at the front row of nations. Its presence is obvious. Chinese power is worldwide, it's global," says the report by the French Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Commission.

The 100-page report says China's international partners must adapt to the new situation, which has been in effect a reorientation of power, which includes making the economy more China-facing, coupled with a fresh look toward international aspects.

China has moved to the forefront its Belt and Road Initiative, part of which involves serious investment in overseas infrastructure. As a result, Beijing is behind the creation of various financial bodies such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, formerly called the BRICS Development Bank.

The internationalization of the renminbi, the Chinese currency, is closely attached to the country's new economic strategy, the report concludes. The report was written before the International Monetary Fund announced the RMB would join the US dollar, British pound, Japanese yen and euro in its basket of reserve currencies.

The report called for a tight dialogue between France and China, saying the two countries "can develop mutual benefits for more qualitative and more inclusive growth."

The report found that in the past, French and other Western economies had suffered because the Chinese economic model had been based on large volumes of low-cost exports. The current reshaping of the Chinese economy, with its emphasis both on quality products as well as a focus on domestic consumption and service industries,offers "undeniable opportunities" for France.

"Obviously this transition could result in lesser growth for China, but the consequences will be in the volume of trade. France must look beyond the notion of competition if it wants to take part in a partnership logic that is demanding but strong," the commission says.

China, because of its size both physically and demographically, does not fit into any normal category and therefore cannot be considered a competitor in the usual sense of the word, it says.

The senators identified three areas in which France and China could participate in what officials have called a "win-win" situation: a growing Chinese demand for quality food products, coupled with a shift in diet and improved food security; better healthcare, including a reorganized system; and better communication, given new technology now available.

According to Raffarin, "the principle of economic development resides in innovation, and not in low costs. For the Chinese, freedom means a freedom to create, to research, to develop new products. They have a strong belief in science and progress."

It urged a global bilateral partnership using a variety of tools, such as a better entry visa system, exchanges of expertise such as through the French Development Agency, a greater acceptance of Chinese investment in France, and joint actions in other parts of the world, such as Africa.

Raffarin says China is well aware that its old economic model, massive and threatening to the planet, was running out of steam.

"This change, which is demanded by public opinion and the workers, is accompanied by measures to fight corruption and to modernize the Party," says Raffarin.

Commission member Henri de Raincourt wrote in his remarks: "We are all aware of the formidable economic growth this country has known in the past 40 years, but I am thinking we are collectively underestimating this phenomenon.

"The Chinese economy is from now on a key element of the world economy, into which she (China) is fully integrated."

China, the report concludes, intends to play what it called "the traditional international game," which had hitherto been the prerogative of powers such as the United States.

chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily European Weekly 02/05/2016 page25)