President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, vowed on Monday to lift the China-France relationship to a new high.

Xi exchanged congratulatory messages with Hollande on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

On Jan 27, 1964, Chairman Mao Zedong and President Charles de Gaulle made the historic step of establishing diplomatic relations, which heralded a new era in China-Europe relations, Xi said in his message on Monday.

He said that the long-term development of a sound and stable China-France relationship is in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and their peoples and also conducive to world peace and development.

China values its relations with France greatly, and is willing to take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties as a good opportunity to lift relations to a higher level, Xi said.

Hollande agreed that China's unparalleled development over the decades has confirmed that establishing diplomatic relations was a far-sighted decision.

Xinhua-China Daily

(China Daily 01/28/2014 page11)