China's top legislator Li Peng said Wednesday in New York that China and France should view their relations from a strategic point of view and value their existing friendship.

Li made the remark during a meeting with Raymond Forni, president of the National Assembly of France.

Both Li and Forni are here attending the Millennium Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments, which began here Wednesday.

Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, said that to push forward for a more healthy and steady development of China-France relations will serve the fundamental interests of the two countries as well as peace and stability of the entire world.

Both China and France should view their relations from a strategic angle and cherish their friendship, Li stressed.

Forni said France attaches great importance to both its relations with China and the relations between China and the European Union. He added that France hopes to further expand its cooperative relations with China.

(People’s Daily 08/31/2000)