A special promotion event for Hubei Province which was hard hit by COVID-19, was held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 12, in Beijing, in a bid to present a new Hubei that has emerged stronger from the difficulties, and build new bridges connecting it to the world.
French Ambassador to China Laurent Bili gave a speech at the event.
Laurent Bili giving speech at the event held by the Ministry of Foreign Affais, on April 12, in Beijing.
Wuhan is one of the cities most influenced by French in the world. Five years ago, I visited the city with the then-French President Jacques Chirac. I learned about Hubei's economic and social development and important status afterwards.
Since taking office, I have visited Hubei twice, and once again was amazed by Wuhan's historical background and future-oriented spirit.
After COVID-19 outbreak, I was very concerned about my friends in Hubei and Wuhan, especially friends in the Zhongnan Hospital.
France began to cooperate with Zhongnan Hospital in 1987. I witnessed the unveiling of China's first French-style emergency center established in the hospital.
During the epidemic, France has repeatedly delivered anti-epidemic materials to Wuhan. Despite the epidemic outbreak, Olivier Guyonvarch, French consul general in Wuhan, returned to the epicenter on Jan. 30 from France, opening the consulate to show his support.
Now, the epidemic has ended across China and Hubei. We hope cooperation between France and Hubei could move further based on the 30 years of achievements.
The cooperation in the fields of railway industry, e-commerce, logistics, urban planning and so on are actively being carried out. France has made positive contributions to Hubei's industry upgrading and high-quality development.
Hubei is reborn from epidemic hit. I hope that the ambassadors of French-speaking countries to China can be organized to Wuhan in the near future to promote more exchanges and cooperation.
- French Ambassador to China Laurent Bili
(en.hubei.gov.cn by Ruan Xinqi)