Former French PM wishes success for Beijing Olympics

　　TIANJIN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin arrived on Saturday in Tianjin, the largest port city in northern China, continuing his four-day visit to China.

　　In a meeting with Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo, Raffarin said that France is confident of China's development and will continue its friendly policy toward China.

　　He said that the incidents of the Beijing Olympics torch relay in Paris were condemned by the French people and he wishes success for the August Games.

　　On April 7, the torch relay in Paris was interrupted several times. The most notable incident was when several supporters of Tibetan independence rushed to Jin Jing, a female wheelchair-bound fencer, and tried to snatch the torch from her.

　　Huang said Tianjin has maintained close contacts with France all along. The Airbus A320 plane final assembly project in Tianjin has raised bilateral cooperation to a new height.

　　Raffarin was deeply impressed by the development of Binhai New Area in Tianjin and said the policies adopted in this area were attractive to foreign investors and enterprises.

　　"We have placed hope on Tianjin's Airbus A320 plane final assembly project and regards it as a signal of further Sino-European cooperation in aviation," he added.

　　After the meeting, Raffarin visited Schneider Electric Low Voltage (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. and the Airbus A320 plane final assembly project in Binhai New Area.

　　Binhai New Area has been designated as a pilot location for some new economic and financial policies.

　　Invited by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, Raffarin started his current visit to China on Thursday. He met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and attended the forum of Sino-European relations in Beijing.