France Seeks To Repair China Ties

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will visit China next week following earlier attempts to improve relations.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday France hoped to deepen its ties with China, which have been strained over Tibet.

"We need China, the world needs China to get out of the recession in which it finds itself," Fillon told parliament.

Realtions between the two countries hit a low after French President Nicolas Sarkozy refused to call off a meeting with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in December.

Beijing then pulled out of summit with the European Union (EU) that was supposed to have taken place on Dec. 1 in France, which held the rotating EU presidency at the time.

Stressing that Tibet was an integral part of China, Fillon said the French president had every right to meet the Dalai Lama -- words likely to irk the Chinese authorities.

"For us, this incident does nothing to distract from our desire to reinforce our strategic partnership with China."

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will visit China next week following earlier attempts to improve relations.

China, which has said it is up to France to repair ties with Beijing, agreed with the EU last week to hold a summit soon, after the London G20 summit on April 2.

Chinese troops occupied Tibet in 1950. Beijing calls the Dalai Lama a separatist, blames him for unrest in Tibet last year and has tried to stop him from meeting foreign leaders.

The Dalai Lama has long said he wants autonomy for Tibet, not outright independence.