President Hu Jintao has arrived in Paris for his second state visit to France. The visit aims to promote long-term and stable development of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership.
After a grand welcoming ceremony, President Hu met with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders exchanged views on major world and regional issues of common concern.
The two countries also signed more than a dozen cooperation deals, including nuclear energy, aviation, finance, energy efficiency, environmental protection, climate change and culture. France is an important trading partner for China in the European Union. Two-way trade reached 38 billion U.S. dollars in 2008. President Hu Jintao will follow his trip to France with a state visit to Portugal later this week.