France to build ’green cities’ in China

A red carpet welcome, a private concert at Opéra Royal and a lavish dinner in Versailles: Chinese President Xi Jinping was received by his French counterpart, François Hollande, as a precious guest. For a good reason: one of the highlights of Xi’s three-day visit to France was the signing of 50 commercial contracts worth a total € 18 billion, the bulk pertaining to the energy sector. By the time Xi left Paris, on 27 March, Franco-Chinese cooperation had taken on…