On the afternoon of April 3, 2003, Jiang Zemin, Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, met with former French President and currently the President of European Convention Valery Giscard D'Estaing.

Jiang extended welcome to D'Esting who has led a French business delegation to attend the ninth China-France Economic Seminar. He said that he was glad to meet Mr. D’Estaing again in Beijing. He praised D'Estaing, an old friend of the Chinese people, for his efforts to promote China-France ties, bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

He noted that China attaches importance to relations with France, and the two countries should further strengthen cooperation while making joint efforts to maintain world peace, stability and development under the current volatile and complex international situation. He pointed out that the Sino-French economic cooperation has yielded fruits, the two economies are highly complementary, and their cooperation still has great potential for further development.

D'Estaing expressed his gratitude for Jiang's meeting. He said that France and China shared similar views on many international issues, and the two sides can further communication and coordination on relevant issues, so as to make contribution to world peace and development. He also expressed the hope that the two countries can enhance trade and economic cooperation with a view to promoting bilateral ties.