FRANCE: The French lavished hospitality this week on the President of China (and no one said anything about human rights). Lara Marlowe reports.
Kow-tow. 1804: The Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead; figurative: to behave in an obsequious manner. - Oxford English Dictionary
That is what President Jacques Chirac was accused of doing this week when he received his Chinese counterpart, Mr Hu Jintao, in sumptuous style and harshly criticised Taiwan, which is considered a "rebel province" by Beijing.
Before Mr Hu's arrival, there was a spectacular Chinese New Year parade down the Champs-Élysées, complete with pagodas and dragons, attended by hundreds of thousands.
Critics recall that in 1989 Chinese youths led the march celebrating the bicentennial of the French Revolution down the same avenue, in protest at the repression in Tiananmen Square. This time Chinese authorities provided performers.
In honour of the state visit, the Eiffel Tower has been illuminated all week in red, the colour of China. On Monday, the day of Mr Hu's arrival, the French Foreign Minister, Mr Dominique de Villepin, appealed to his European colleagues to lift the arms embargo against Beijing, imposed in the wake of Tiananmen Square.
Mr de Villepin said the embargo "derives from an outmoded state of relations between the European Union and China, which is today a privileged partner which occupies an important and responsible role in the international system."
Britain, Holland, Sweden and Denmark objected to lifting the embargo, which ambassadors to the EU will continue discussing.
France gave Mr Hu another present that evening when Mr Chirac, in a toast before the State dinner, criticised the referendum scheduled by Taiwan for March 20th. "Breaking the status quo by a destabilising initiative, whatever it be, including a referendum . . . would be a grave error." Mr Chirac said.
Beijing portrays the referendum as a move towards independence. The text is actually about adapting Taiwanese missile defences to those targeting the island, and opening negotiations with Beijing in the hope of pacifying their relations.
Mr Chirac later repeated his criticism of Taiwan at a press conference, saying: "France condemns initiatives like the referendum, which can appear aggressive."
Ms Annette Lu, the Vice-President of Taiwan (which unlike China has a democratically elected government), said Mr Chirac's remarks were shameful. "To obtain huge contracts, Chirac went so far as to sacrifice the foundations of France and to trample on dignity and democracy," she added.
Nor did Mr Chirac venture a resounding condemnation of China's deplorable human rights record. Over dinner at the Élysée Palace, the French President said he hoped that economic growth would lead China "to complete its economic and social transition while advancing resolutely in the path of democracy and freedoms." Respect for human rights, Mr Chirac added, "is a necessary condition for the development of modern economies and societies. I know that it is one of your priorities." No responsible leader could ignore China, factory to the world, home of 1.2 billion consumers.
But opposition politicians accused Mr Chirac, in the words of Mr Jean-Marc Ayrault, president of the socialist group in the National Assembly, of "going beyond the limits of Realpolitik.
Mr Hu obliged by announcing in Paris that Southern China Airlines will buy 21 Airbuses, a contract worth more than a billion dollars. The Chinese President ended his French visit yesterday by visiting the assembly line in Toulouse in the company of the French Prime Minister.
To secure the State visit, the French government gave Mr Hu everything he demanded, including the opportunity to address the National Assembly. Close to half of the deputies boycotted the session, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of Gen Charles de Gaulle's decision to recognise the People's Republic.
A centre-right deputy stood with a white gag over his mouth throughout the speech, to symbolise the lack of freedom in China. A deputy from Mr Chirac's own party gave Mr Hu a list of political prisoners and people jailed for trade union or religious activities, drawn up with the help of Amnesty International.
Mr Hu was taken to the Charles de Gaulle Foundation, where he was allowed to sit at the general's desk.
But kow-towing to China has so far given meagre pay-offs. For all the French hopes of seeing China play a role in a "multipolar, multilateral" world, Beijing treasures its bilateral relationship with Washington. And China buys only 1 per cent of French exports. Germany sells four times as much to the People's Republic.