【10.05.01 巴基斯坦每日时报】Sarkozy wants friendly ties with China

青蛙小王子

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\01\story_1-5-2010_pg4_3

SHANGHAI: French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday called for “confident and friendly” relations with China as he wrapped up a state visit aimed at putting past tensions over Tibet to rest.

Sarkozy, who finished his trip in Shanghai for the opening gala of the World Expo, said Paris wanted to expand cooperation with Beijing on a number of fronts, but would remain “attentive” to problems faced by business people in China. “I wanted to come... because we should have confident and friendly relations with China,” Sarkozy said Friday. “There have been in the past some difficulties, some misunderstandings, and we worked hard to dispel these misunderstandings without giving up our beliefs,” he added, alluding to the heated row over Tibet.

Relations hit a low point in 2008 when the French president expressed shock at a Chinese security crackdown in Tibet in March and later met the Dalai Lama, the Chinese-ruled region’s exiled spiritual leader.

On Iran, Sarkozy told the Chinese leader that while dialogue was still an option with Tehran, sanctions had to be considered as a last resort if the Islamic republic refused to cooperate with the international community. “China hopes to use dialogue to solve this problem. France completely understands China, and we are willing to discuss this problem together at an appropriate time,” Chinese state media quoted Sarkozy as saying.

“But if dialogue does not work, then we can only use sanctions,” he added at a joint media appearance with Hu on Wednesday. The French leader also did not speak publicly on human rights concerns, such as the treatment of political dissidents or religious freedom. afp