Interview: China-France cooperation to defend multilateralism reflects former French president de Gaulle's legacy -- de Gaulle's great-granddaughter

PARIS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- China-France cooperation to defend true multilateralism is a continuation of former French President Charles de Gaulle's legacy, Nathalie de Gaulle, great-granddaughter of the former French president, has said.

Nathalie de Gaulle made the remarks in an exclusive interview recently with Xinhua. In 1964, France became the first major Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Sixty years later, China and France, two independent countries, have cooperated to defend true multilateralism.

She said that de Gaulle's decision to establish diplomatic relations with China was very bold at the time because it would bring the world, which was divided between the Western bloc and the Eastern bloc, closer together. "And so, somewhere, it was a decision that led to the globalization that we are experiencing today," she said.

"I think that what characterizes General de Gaulle's international policy is his grandeur, his independence, and his realism. So, given the pragmatic and visionary politician that he was, he considered that we must have a dialogue with China, that we had to create strong links with your country (China). And that was typical Gaullian realism," she said.

Today, the world faces multiple crises. She said that no country could face all the challenges alone posed by climate change, current wars, etc.

"I think that China and France, also through the European Union, have already collaborated a lot on climate change. A symbolic example is that the agreements were signed in 2022 on biodiversity, particularly important between China and France ... This dialogue established between our two countries for sixty years, and now between the European Union and China, seems to me extremely profitable and obviously perpetuates the vision of my great-grandfather: to see the world in a lucid way, with its crises, its problems and to rely on national greatness as well as international cooperation to face up to the challenges, which was already the case at the time," she said.

She further said that China has been a global strategic partner of France since 2004. In this context, a lot of economic, scientific and industrial cooperation has been developed.

"As part of the new cooperation that we could envisage, I am very sensitive to the maritime field. China is a large coastal country bordered by seas and France has the second largest maritime territory in the world, thanks to its departments and overseas regions," she said.

"It seems to me (that) a certain number of cooperation could be developed both on biodiversity, which we have already started in 2022, but also on exploration and seabed mapping, or on all aspects of marine renewable energies. This would be something which, I think, could be very beneficial for our two countries," she added.

"About the European Union, we must continue this cooperation on the fight against global warming, which, in my opinion, can only be done between large geographical entities. It is a global challenge. Europe and China must continue to work together, as they did so within the framework of COP28 in Dubai," she said.

Nathalie de Gaulle noted her family has been closely linked to China for sixty years. Her uncle, Jean de Gaulle, who was a deputy in the National Assembly, was president of the France-China interparliamentary friendship committee, and her father, Yves de Gaulle, often went to China like his brother. "So my uncle and my father told us a lot of anecdotes. And both of them, in fact, always told us about the historical depth of China."

The 41-year-old great-granddaughter of the former French president has been fascinated by China since adolescence when the country still seemed very distant to her, with a mentality and customs extremely different from her own country's.

For Nathalie de Gaulle, there are a lot of things to discover in China. She believes that this year, the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, will be rich in cultural and tourist events for France and China.

"I would like to meet the students, perhaps give courses, in any case be in contact with the Chinese students. I was asked to perhaps actually come and give courses in Beijing or Guangdong. I would very much like to exchange with them and perhaps allow them to better understand what is happening in Europe and France," she said.

"I believe we can learn a lot from each other about our respective visions" and how to consider both our past and our future, she added.

Web editors: Li Xiaoshu, Tong Lin