PRESIDENT Jacques Chirac of France last night celebrated a new era of political and commercial co-operation between France and China by proudly saluting what he called the "spirit of conquest, the spirit of France, the spirit which is combative, which wins in the world market".
Mr Chirac was speaking at a press conference in Beijing after being feted by Chinese leaders who marked his first visit to China by endorsing contracts for French firms worth $1.8 billion.
Mr Chirac and the Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin, signed a joint communique aiming for a global partnership in the 21st century, and opposing attempts at world domination a thinly disguised dig at the United States.
They exchanged gifts to cement what Mr Chirac called the most important meeting between China and France since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1964. Mr Jiang presented his counterpart with a poem in his own calligraphy and Mr Chirac gave in return to Mr Jiang's amazement and delight - the yellowing French employment permit of the late paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, who worked in French factories in the early 1920s.
Despite what he called France's "combative spirit" abroad, it was Mr Chirac's decision to cease being confrontational on human rights which won France the status of most favoured nation here.
France was the first to break ranks with the EU this year in refusing to support an annual UN motion condemning China's human rights record. In an atmosphere of rancour, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece sided with France while the remaining 10 EU countries, including Ireland, backed a Danish-drafted resolution calling for improvement in China's human rights record.
They "pulled out all the stops and given Chirac real quality time as a singular mark of favour", said a senior European diplomat, "while those who dissented fell out of favour in a big way."
Mr Chirac claimed the majority of the EU countries had sided with France and feigned not to recall those who supported the Danish initiative. "The French position was called into question by Denmark, Holland and other European countries - I'm not quite sure which," he said, waving his hand in the air.
He defended his human rights record by recalling that the South African President, Mr Nelson Mandela complimented him for refusing to visit South Africa when he was in prison.
Asked if French policy had gained anything for imprisoned Chinese dissidents like Mr Wang Dan and Mr Wei Jingsheng "who together would make a Mandela", the French president replied that France had called for their release "in speech and in writing".
He said the confrontational strategy on human rights "simply doesn't work". He believed in consultation and had already achieved substantial gains. He referred to the decision by China to sign before the end of 1997 the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and to "consider favourably" its accession to the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The communique contained a passing reference to human rights the very inclusion of which the Chinese side apparently opposed. It called for dialogue "in a constructive manner and on the basis of equality and mutual respect."
Mr Chirac refused to comment on speculation about a weakening of French support for the EU arms embargo imposed on China after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989, saying simply: "It is not a topical question".
In talks on Thursday, Mr Jiang, described as a "a wise decision" French opposition to censuring China over human rights and to further arms sales to Taiwan.
The world's last two powers to engage in nuclear testing voiced support for a global test ban and urged a swift start to talks on banning production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
Mr Chirac arrived on Thursday for a four-day state visit marked by major commercial deals. Airbus Industrie signed a $1.5 billion contract to sell 10 A320 and 20 A321 planes to Chinese airlines and signed an agreement to produce in China a 100-seat passenger jet that is expected to net around $40 billion.
Reuter reports:
An armada from Hong Kong and China engaged trawlers loaded with illegal immigrants yesterday, and thousands of Chinese police fought a mob trying to break through to the border - but it was all pretend.
China and Hong Kong deployed more than 80 vessels in waters around the Hong Kong-China border in an unprecedented joint exercise to combat the smuggling of illegal immigrants, and more than 3,000 Chinese border police held an exercise on land.
The sea games in Dapeng Bay aimed to prepare border police from both sides to cope with the tide of Chinese sneaking into Hong Kong before the British colony's July 1st return to China.
With Hong Kong in view on one side and China's Shenzhen city on the other, the two security forces jointly intercepted 21 fishing trawlers being used as simulated smuggling vessels.
Smugglers, or "snakeheads" as they are known locally, use fishing trawlers and open-top speedboats to ferry Chinese migrants across to Hong Kong at night.