France, the guest of honor at the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), is using its national pavilion as a platform for its companies to explore new cooperation opportunities in the Chinese market.
Focusing on the theme "Choose France," the pavilion's design highlights unique charm of the European country, showcasing French cultural characteristics and draws inspiration from iconic French landmarks, such as the Arc de Triomphe, successfully catching the eyes of visitors.
The pavilion will also hold a string of activities by centering on three themes including healthcare, sports and the attractiveness of France, in an effort to carry out exchanges with Chinese enterprises.
"France is a creative and innovative country. It has renowned expertise in the field of services. French companies are open to promoting in the Chinese market and cooperating with Chinese companies. It's a very important opportunity for us to showcase France and the expertise of French companies. France had the honor to host athletes and visitors from around the world this summer, and especially a significant Chinese delegation which performed very successfully during these games. This is yet another key area of collaboration between our two nations," said Pascal Gondrand, Commercial Counsellor at the Embassy of France in Beijing.
Another scaled-down version of Paris' landmark building in the national pavilion is the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, with French companies putting up booths in the arch of the bridge to showcase their advanced products in the fields of sports, living arts, business event planning and financial services, according to Gondrand.
"It's to connect with people, obviously to connect for potential opportunity of business, also to know better what are the new innovation on the service industry. If they open up more, it's always better for us, so that's good," said Inès Ginon, president of GL events Greater China, a provider of integrated solutions and services for events operating.
France is China's third largest trading partner and third largest source of actual investment in the European Union, and China is France's largest trading partner in Asia and seventh largest in the world.
Over the 60 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations, their economic and trade relations have continued to heat up, and France attaches great importance to cooperating with China in cultural and tourism industry and looks forward to promoting more two-way exchanges and improving the well-being of the people in both countries, Gondrand noted.
Themed "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the 2024 CIFTIS opened in Beijing on Thursday and will run through Monday.
This year, 10 companies including L'Oreal and Schneider Electronics, are participating in the French Pavilion to showcase their high-quality cooperation with China in event management and operation, cultural and tourism services, green economy, medical and health services, insurance and legal services.
French Pavilion at 2024 CIFTIS aims to explore more partners in China
China's decision to shift next year's monetary policy stance from "prudent" to "moderately loose" signals a firm commitment to proactive macroeconomic policies aimed at accelerating economic growth, according to a senior official at the People's Bank of China (PBOC).
The country's annual Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from Wednesday to Thursday, with Chinese leaders deciding priorities for economic work in 2025. During the tone-setting meeting, it was stressed that a moderately loose monetary policy should be implemented, with reductions in the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates at an appropriate timing to ensure ample liquidity.
Zou Lan, head of the PBOC's Monetary Policy Department, said that the central bank will continue to implement a comprehensive set of measures to ensure robust policy support for stabilizing economic growth. A more moderate policy is expected to bolster investor confidence and consumer willingness to spend.
"The central government's decision to adopt a 'moderately loose' monetary policy carries significant signaling value, reinforcing policy continuity and effectiveness. This shift is conducive to increasing investor confidence, enhancing consumer willingness to spend, and further stimulating the initiative and dynamism of economic entities, thereby promoting a virtuous cycle in the real economy," Zou said.
The decision comes against a backdrop of mounting external uncertainties and persistent domestic economic challenges. According to Zou, the adoption of a moderately loose stance underscores the central bank's resolve to enhance its ability to respond to such headwinds.
"The PBOC will effectively implement a moderate loose monetary policy, timely adjusting reserve requirements and interest rates to maintain ample liquidity. We will ensure that the growth of aggregate financing and money supply aligns with our economic growth and inflation targets. On pricing, we will keep pushing forward; on aggregate levels, we will continue to exert force; and structurally, we will focus our efforts to enhance the transmission mechanism of monetary policy, prevent capital mis-allocation, and strike a balance between supporting the real economy and maintaining the stability of the banking system, thereby promoting a sustained recovery in the economy," he said.
According to Zou, the monetary policy will remain closely coordinated with other macroeconomic measures to enhance overall policy effectiveness. Looking ahead, the central bank plans to lower the overall cost of financing for businesses and households, providing a favorable interest rate environment to stimulate consumption and investment. These moves are anticipated to stabilize competition in deposit and loan markets and enhance banks' ability to price autonomously and rationally.
"The PBOC will flexibly utilize various monetary policy tools, including reserve requirements, open market operations, and re-lending, to ensure ample liquidity in the banking system. It will guide banks to tap into effective credit demand and further activate existing assets to promote stable monetary credit operations. Structural monetary policy tools will also be leveraged to provide targeted incentives, focusing on developing science and technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, old-age finance and digital finance. These efforts aim to more effectively meet reasonable financing needs for consumption, thereby fostering the stable and healthy development of both the real estate market and capital markets," Zou said.
In addition to domestic monetary measures, the PBOC plans to deepen reforms in exchange rate marketization and strengthen expectations management to cushion external shocks, so as to guard against the risks of excessive exchange rate fluctuations while maintaining the renminbi's stability at a reasonable and balanced level. Moreover, the central bank is committed to improving overall policy efficiency, Zou said.
"We will coordinate macroeconomic policies to deliver a powerful policy combination. This includes creating a favorable liquidity environment for government bond issuance, increasing government bond market operations, and enhancing the impact of a more active fiscal policy. Together, these measures will support economic growth and structural adjustments," he added.
Moderately loose monetary policy reflects China's resolve to boost growth: central bank official
