Major Chinese news portal Sohu recently republished an article by Outlook Weekly, a magazine by Xinhua, about French Premier Francois Fillon’s visit to China. The article reported that Mr. Fillon was happy when he returned to Paris before Christmas with several “major deals.” It also declared the downturen of the relationship between the two countries started in 2008, when France “interfered” with Chinese internal affairs. During Fillon’s visit, he met with Hu Jingtao and Wen Jiabao, who agreed to the continuation of the China-France “strategic partnership.” The Chinese government however dismissed the French position which was that, “China should understand that France has a long standing tradition of freedom of speech.”
Source: Sohu, December 29, 2009
http://news.sohu.com/20091229/n269278263.shtml