China-France Space Seminar was held online on December 2, 2022. The seminar was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, with support from the Chinese Embassy in France and the French Embassy in China, and organized by the Chinese Society of Astronautics. Xiangli Bin, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Chen Li, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in France, Laurent Bili, French Ambassador to China and Cyril Moulin, Head of the Research and Innovation Strategy Department at the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research attended the seminar and addressed the audience. Dai Gang, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation at the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and Marc Daumas, Counselor for Higher education, Research and Innovation at the French Embassy in China, co-chaired the opening ceremony.

　　In his opening address, Vice Minister Xiangli Bin said that Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Macron have had two phone conversations and met in person once this year and reached consensus to strengthen cooperation in technology innovation, aerospace and climate change. The seminar is a concrete measure to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and the outcomes of the 14th meeting of the China-France Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation. He hoped the two sides would exchange cutting-edge achievements and practical experience, innovate cooperation models, and inject new impetus into bilateral cooperation in space technology.

　　Minister Counsellor Chen Li said that both countries attach great importance to strategic planning and industrial development in space. There is solid foundation and strong complementarity for China and France to strengthen cooperation in space technology. Many important cooperation results have been achieved, and the prospect of cooperation is broad. He hoped the two sides would continue to deepen cooperation, lead the healthy development of the space technology and its global application, and benefit people of the two countries and beyond.

　　French Ambassador Laurent Bili said that France and China had maintained longstanding cooperation in space research, and had jointly developed the oceanographic satellite and the astronomical satellite. The two sides should take this seminar as an opportunity to deepen research cooperation in areas of common interest, and provide solutions to global issues such as climate change and environmental protection.

　　Cyril Moulin expressed congratulations to China for its new progress in building space station, adding that the seminar was a further step to implement the consensus reached at the 14th meeting of the China-France Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation and by the ministers during the video conference. He hoped that both sides could strengthen cooperation in space technologies to deal with climate change building on current cooperation.

　　More than 80 guests from the two countries’ science and technology authorities, foreign ministries, embassies, research institutes and universities attended the seminar, including Xu Jie, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation at the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, Lu Rongkai, Counsellor for Science and Technology at the Chinese Embassy in France, Wu Xiangping, academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Cui Yufu, Chief Designer at China Academy of Space Technology, Zhang Yao, Deputy Division Head of Chinese Society of Astronautics, Nicolas Pillerel, Minister Counsellor for Culture, Education and Scientific Affairs of the French Embassy in China, Mathieu Grialou, Space Counsellor of the French Embassy in China and the Representative of the National Centre for Space Studies in France. At the seminar, experts from both sides conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on topics of common interest and future areas of cooperation.