French defense minister arrives in Beijing

BEIJING (AFP) Jun 29, 2003
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie arrived in Beijing Sunday for a two-day official visit intended to strengthen bilateral relations between France and China.

Alliot-Marie will on Sunday visit tourists sites in the Chinese capital and is due Monday to meet President Hu Jintao, former president Jiang Zemin and her counterpart Cao Gangchuan, officials said.

Her visit is the highest-level French visit to China since April when Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin was in Beijing.

It is the first visit to China by a French defense minister since 1997.

Alliot-Marie arrived from Uzbekistan where she held official talks on Saturday.

WAR.WIRE