On the occasion of the summit between the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, Paris and Beijing signed a series of agreements covering various sectors, such as aerospace, energy and agri-food. In total, 14 agreements were signed before the two presidents, for a total value of several tens of billions of euros. This was reported by the Italian news agency Nova.
Through the state-owned Casc (China Aviation Supplie Holding Compan), Beijing has purchased 290 Airbus A320 and 10 A350 aircraft. The Elysée has made it known that the operation has a total value of about 30 billion euros. President Macron said it was "an important step forward" that gives an "excellent signal". The contract was signed by the president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Guillaume Faury, and the president of Casc, Jia Baojun.
"It is a contract of a very important size", said Faury on the sidelines of the event, explaining that Chinese airlines "have their own needs in terms of configuration, in terms of specificity" and "this framework contract covers the needs of each of these companies ".
Airbus also signed a contract with Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Co. Ltd (21AT) for the supply of high definition satellite imagery through the European consortium constellation. Among the commercial agreements there is also the one that provides for a cooperation between the energy group Edf and China Energy investmentent for the construction of a 502 MW offshore wind farm off the coast of the province of Jiangsu worth one billion euros. Added to this is the strategic agreement between Fives and China National material buildings group (CNBM) for "the development of green technologies that allow for a significant reduction in their energy consumption". Still in the energy sector, the Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy (CEA) and the Chinese Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) have signed the 13th protocol on the peaceful use of atomic energy.
To support Franco-Chinese funds in third markets as part of a renewable energy platform, Quadran International, BPI France, SUS environment and China Investment Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding.
In cultural sector, another memorandum of understanding was signed between the Institute of the Arab world and the National Museum of China, which foresees the organization of an exhibition on the Silk Roads in Paris and Beijing in 2021. The French Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Cultural Heritage Administration also signed a joint declaration to prevent the fight against the illegal trafficking of cultural goods. A letter of intent was signed by the National Center for Space Studies and the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). The agreement, reads a note from the Elysée, "aims at the development of cooperation in the field of lunar exploration and provides for the adoption of a roadmap within the framework of the Space Climate Observatory and accompanying companies in the sector".
CMA-CGM and China State Shipbuilding Corporation have reached a framework agreement which provides for the construction of 10 new ships capable of carrying 15 containers for an estimated amount of 1,2 billion euros. BNP Paribas, Eurazéo PE and China Investment Corporation (CIC), on the other hand, will create a bilateral investment fund to support the development of French companies in China. In the agri-food sector, Beijing lifted the embargo on imports of French poultry meat that had been in place since 2015. The French Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC). In this regard, President Xi invited "France to be the guest of honor of the second international import exhibition". Schneider Electric and Bank of China have signed a long-term global cooperation agreement for the financing of projects in third countries. The Directorate-General for the Treasury and the National Commission for Development and Reform have reached an agreement on the third list of pilot projects for cooperation in third countries.