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On January 27 1964, China and France established diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level. Since then, the Sino-French relations have been developing smoothly on the whole. However, the relationship experienced severe setbacks in the early 1990s' owing to the French arms sales to Taiwan. On January 12 1994, the two governments issued Joint Communiqué in which the French side was committed not to authorize the French companies to participate in arming Taiwan any more, thus bringing the bilateral relations back to the right track. At present, the two sides enjoy good relations, and both sides are carrying out conducted fruitful cooperation in the fields of politics, economics, culture, science, technology and education, etc.
Exchanges of high-level visits between the two countries are as follows:
In April 1994, French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur visited China.
In September 1994, Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to France.
In April 1996, Chinese Premier Li Peng visited France.
In March 1997, Chairman of the Standing Committee of NPC Qiao Shi visited France.
In May 1997, French President Jacques Chirac paid a visit to China. The two heads of state signed Sino-French Joint Communique, dedicating themselves in building the full-round partnership toward the 21st Century.
In April 1998, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visited France.
In May 1998, Chairman of CPPCC Li Ruihuan visited France.
In September 1998, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin visited China.
In September 1999, French Senate President Christian Poncelet visited China.
In October 1999, Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid his second state visit to France.
In October 2000, French President Jacques Chirac visited China again.
In April 2001, Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing visited France.
In November 2001, Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao visited France.
In September 2002, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visited France.
(Chinese Foreign Ministry January 17, 2004)
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