China, France ink array of telecom deals
July 2, 2015, 12:56 pm

French President Francoise Hollande with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Paris, France on 30 June 2015 [Xinhua]

China Mobile and China Unicom have committed to buy $1.5 billion worth of network equipment from France’s Alcatel-Lucent this year, according to the French government.

French microchip maker STMicro also signed a $500 million with China’s Huawei on Thursday to bolster its supply relationship with the Chinese telecom equipment provider, the French government statement added.

The five-year deal, signed during a visit to France by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, is expected to lead to an increase in orders for the semiconductor manufacturer, the statement said.

During Li’s trip, a Chinese company also inked an $18 billion deal with Airbus.

Airbus will also sign a deal on Thursday to set up a centre at its base in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin where the aircraft can be customised.

In his address at the OECD headquarters on Wednesday, Li said Beijing is “ready to carry out tripartite cooperation with a view to combining the manufacturing advantages of his country with the advanced technologies of developed countries and the huge development needs of developing countries”.

“That will benefit all the three sides,” Li said.

China and France have signed an agreement to team up on projects in Africa and Asia.

The agreement, which was signed on a high-level three-day visit by Li to France, will see the two nations work together on infrastructure and energy projects and introduce “new forms of co-contracting, co-production and co-financing.”

China overtook the United States as Africa’s biggest trade partner in 2009.

China has built roads, railways, stadiums and pipelines in the continent even as it gained access to Africa’s oil and minerals.

Historically, Sino-African ties have also been strengthened by the fact that Beijing backed African liberation movements fighting to throw off Western colonial rule.

France, with its long imperial history in Africa, has in recent years again launched armed interventions in former colonies like Mali, Central African Republic and Ivory Coast.

TBP and Agencies