China and France should join together to hasten efforts to encourage joint business ventures and improve bilateral relations, business leaders of both nations said.

If this happened, economic ties between China and France would grow rapidly in coming years, said Jacques Van Minden, president of the Sino-French Association for the Development of Investment and Commerce Exchange.

"There is still plenty of room for business co-operation between Chinese and French businesses, especially among small- and medium-sized enterprises," said Van Minden during his recent and 168th trip to China.

China's potential accession to the World Trade Organization would give a big boost to the promotion of business links between these two countries, Van Minden said.

Van Minden will head a delegation to Beijing in late March for a one-week First China-French Enterprises Co-operation Forum, a meeting tailored to promote Sino-French business ventures.

More than 100 French enterprises, including those involved with everything from agriculture and environmental protection to electronics and real estate, are expected to participate in the forum.

France has long been a major business partner for China, and it has consistently been a major technology exporter to China in recent decades.

Economic links between China and France enjoyed stable, rapid growth in the late 1990s. French contractual investment in China surged 32.3 per cent to US$583.7 million in 2000, compared with the US$441 million in 1999. The actual utilized capital from France rose to US$683.8 million last year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation.

"But the current bilateral trade situation still could not match the potential that exists," said Liu Kexin, president of the Beijing Enterprises Confederation.

He added the two sides should expand business co-operation to other areas, such as environmental protection.

Similar forums will also be held in other major Chinese cities, such as Shanghai and Xi'an, in the near future, Van Minden said.

(China Daily 02/10/2001)