Posted on 10/08/2004 1:59:37 PM PDT by Cornpone
French President Jacques Chirac says he regards the European arms embargo on China as outdated and wants it lifted as soon as possible.
Chirac (right) sees rich opportunities in China's boom His remarks came ahead of his visit to China on Friday, and again France finds itself at odds with the US.
Washington is urging the EU not to lift an embargo that was imposed after the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Mr Chirac's trip to China is aimed at boosting flourishing trade relations.
When Chinese President Hu Jintao visited France earlier this year, Paris not only laid out the red carpet but turned the Eiffel Tower red in his honour and named 2004 the Year of China.
Now that Gallic charm offensive appears to be paying off as Mr Chirac makes his return visit to Beijing.
China is a political and economic priority for France, an area in which it is competing fiercely and successfully with the US for business and influence.
French arms
America may have been faster to woo China, but France is doing its best to catch up. Mr Chirac is bringing with him four ministers and more than 50 leading French businessmen to discuss deals with China.
The French aerobatic display team is in China with Mr Chirac Among the biggest is an $8bn (£4.47bn or 6.48bn euros) contract to construct four nuclear reactors there, with a Franco-German group pitted against an Anglo-American bid.
Another major project is the planned high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai, for which France believes its TGV trains would be ideal.
As Mr Chirac has made clear, he also believes French defence companies could do well in China - if only Europe would lift its arms embargo.
However, the sensitive issue of human rights in China is unlikely to figure high on the agenda during the French president's visit.
In the short term, France is unlikely to catch up with the level of German investment in the lucrative Chinese market, but its efforts are helping to ensure that if present trends continue, Europe as a whole could soon be China's largest trading partner.
Rice eating surrender monkeys. With apologies to Jonah Goldberg.
Let's hope so ;)
Hope is one thing we can embrace but I still pray every night...
Now that Saddam is gone, the Chinese must be Jacques new "Best Bribery Buddies".
I can't believe that any liberal/lefty thinks that France has a principled foriegn policy. Just goes to show you how dumb people can be. France (with Russia and China) were by far the main arms suppliers to Iraq. France tried to build Saddam a nuclear reactor. France took bribes and oil contracts in exchange for support of the murderous dictator Saddam. Now France, is chomping at the bit to sell weapons to mainland China which is menacing the vibrant democracy of Taiwan. The French even held joint military drills with the PRC at the same time Taiwan was having their elections. Of course the PRC does this every 4 years to Taiwan but this time France joined in on the fun. France does not stand for democracy, it doesn't stand for human rights, it does not stand for anything but cheese, croissants, and their own self-interests. No principles, no ideals. It is sad to say, but France is long gone.
Of course they do and they don't really care. They want money. If it doesn't directly endanger them they why should they care.
I'll be damned if the U.S. is going to taken a GLOBAL TEST administered by the likes of France. Non!
You jest, but as WWIV develops, France, Germany, and China are going to be on the other side. I don't have a guess as to whether it will be cold war or hot war, but the socialists in our country who persist in calling France an old friend are using their heads for corks.
Earlier this year, I predicted we would be at war with France by year's end. Sorry to say, we apparently have been for over a year...
it was just being repressed and covered up by the press, sort of.
Bush knows it.
Kerry knows it.
It's out there in the open with this kind of crap from jacque and company, their NEW best friends the terrorists and China, the terrorist puppet master.
Kerry has sided with the french.
Kerry is a traitor to our nation.
So should we in the US. The Worm wants to arm our enemy? Amazing.
I absolutely agree. France is a spoiler that profits from the schisms in a bipolar world. France is now desperately searching for a replacement to the Soviet Union in order to create an opportunity for it to scrape an existence from the slim that oozes out of the crevices of such schisms. Otherwise, France has absolutely no significance in the world.
You are 100% correct. France has been working over time assisting China in their force modernization plan. They provided some of the gear for the newest generation diesel elec. boats (subs), among other stuff. Iraq was a similar deal. When the Israelis took out the Iraqi nuclear facility (on a Sunday to minimize collateral damage), I am fairly certain that a French scientist was the only casualty, working overtime to arm the (then would-be) enemy, as usual.
We need to be alert when foreign governments use proxies to shadow box with the U.S. in an attempt thwart us by using/equipping elements hostile (or potentially hostile) to the U.S.
If I were running the big show, I would at least consider arming and equipping France's enemies in covert retaliation in an effort to bring down their country. They are doing the exact same thing to us. Think about it, that is precisely what they are up to.
If the US and China ever go to war, you can thank the French (among others) for the upgrade to the ChiCom mil.
Wouldn't it be something if China declared war on France. ha ha ha ha ha ha
George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent
Election 2004 threads on FR
I agree wholeheartedly. It's been a long time (if ever, really) since the French were friends of ours. And these days they are going out of their way to be treacherous. There will be a reckoning someday.
Just as long as the french arms are not lifted, can you imagine the smell?
I would at least consider arming and equipping France's enemies in covert retaliation
No, Cornpone, the praying rug is YELLOW like the streak on S##tracks back.
Normandy is already occupied by Americans--unfortunately they were killed protecting France from the Nazis. What fools we were.
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