A French government official said in Beijing Tuesday the Chinese and French economies are highly complementary and France welcomes investment from Chinese enterprises.

Clara Gaymard, chairman of the Invest in France Agency, said at a press conference that Chinese and French leaders attach high importance to Sino-French economic cooperation, which got a impetus from French President Jacques Chirac's state visit to China from Oct. 8 to 12, accompanied by more than 300 entrepreneurs.

The French Culture Year held in China this year will provide opportunities for more Chinese enterprises to learn about French culture and economy, she said.

China's economy has experienced rapid development since the country started reform and opening up. A number of large Chinese enterprise have attained the strength to open up the international market, said Gaymard, adding that France is ready to provide opportunities and platform for Chinese enterprises to conduct business in Europe.

Promoted by French government's efforts to attract capital, investment in France by Asian enterprises has experienced steady growth in recent years. China, with 82 companies, is the second largest Asian investor in France in 2003, Gaymard said.

Representatives of nearly 30 Chinese enterprises attended the press conference and most of them expressed much interest in making investment in France.

"Our company is making initial preparations for making investment in France. Once the conditions become ripe, we will cooperate with French businesses on the production, research and development of chemical products," said Xie Xianzhi, deputy general manager of China National Bluestar (Group) Corporation.

Chinese customs statistics show that Sino-French trade reached US$13.4 billion last year, up 60.9 percent over the previous year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2004)