Photo exhibition on 50 years of China-France relations opens in Paris

PARIS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A photo exhibition to mark the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, jointly organized by Xinhua News Agency and AFP, has launched in Paris. The event also inaugurated the Xinhua Paris Gallery.

The exhibition came following French President Francois Hollande's visit to China in April, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the two leaders agreed to hold events over the course of 2014 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Thursday's opening of the photo exhibition "Fifty Years of China-France Relations" is a foretaste of later events to follow.

More than 300 visitors, including government officials, photograph professionals, artists, scholars and media workers came to the event.

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Diplomatic Adviser to President Hollande Jean-Paul Ortiz, President of France-China Friendship Group in the National Assembly Jean-Marie Le Guen, President and CEO of Agence France-Presse Emmanuel Hoog and Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in France Deng Li were all presented.

Speaking to the opening ceremony, Giscard d'Estaing recalled the moment dated back to some 50 years ago, when he was a junior minister in the French government, attended a meeting of the then President Charles de Gaulle who announced that France would recognize the People's Republic of China (PRC) after making some briefing about China.

Giscard d'Estaing said he wishes to see continued development of friendly cooperation between France and China, adding that the photo exhibition will help people learn more about the history of friendly exchanges between the two countries.

Long Songlin, CEO of China International Culture & Image Communication Corporation (a subsidiary company of Xinhua) said the photo exhibition is a fruitful result from the successful cooperation between Xinhua and AFP, their recall to the history of friendship and their gift to the 50th anniversary of the bilateral relations.

All the selected photos on the exhibition were taken by Xinhua or AFP photojournalists. The exhibition retraces 50 years of diplomatic ties between China and France and chooses 50 iconic photos showing major events since the 1950s.

Some shots depict major political events and figures, while others capture great moments of people-to-people exchange, with major figures from the social, cultural and artistic circles that have marked relations between the two countries.

The exhibition thus covers all the aspects of the political, economic and people's exchanges in the two countries.

On the 27th January 1964, despite all kinds of barriers, then Chinese President Mao Zedong and France's General Charles de Gaulle took a groundbreaking decision to establish ambassador-level diplomatic ties. France thus became the first major western power to establish official diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

The rich achievements in the exchanges and cooperation between China and France over the following five decades are testimony to the great foresight of these two visionaries. The continued cooperation and exchanges will provide media with more opportunities to share their observations to the public.

Long said the newly opened Xinhua Gallery Paris aims to promote cultural exchanges between China and all the European countries with a mission of spreading the Chinese culture and foster the mutual understanding between the Chinese and the French and then the European people.

The gallery, located at the centre of Paris, is a high-end art window and cultural showcase platform with an open exhibition hall of more than 400 square meters.

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