CHINA and France agreed to "cherish and maintain" bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership after a series of unhappy incidents in France and recent visits by high-level French officials.

The Chinese foreign ministry revealed the five-point consensus reached by State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Jean-David Levitte, a diplomatic adviser for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during their Saturday talks.

China and France should view and handle two-way relations from a strategic level and long-term perspective. The two countries should make efforts to remove obstacles and strengthen mutual trust to promote healthy and smooth development of the Sino-French relations, according to the consensus.

The French side firmly adheres to the one-China policy, reiterates that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of the Chinese territory, holds that the issues of Taiwan and Tibet belong to China's internal affairs, and France supports the national reunification of China, the consensus says.

The two sides also touched on the Olympic issue, saying that the Olympic Games serve as a grand activity of sports and friendship of all people in the world. The French side supports and wishes great success to the Beijing Olympic Games.

France spoke highly of China's increasing major role in solving regional and international issues. The China-France comprehensive strategic partnership could play a bigger role in safeguarding the peace and stability of the world, says the consensus.

The Chinese public had been irritated by recent incidents concerning the Beijing Olympic torch relay in some European countries. In Paris, the female wheelchair fencer Jin Jing was manhandled.

Soon after, a petition was initiated to boycott French products and Carrefour. The supermarket giant had been accused by Internet users of supporting the Dalai Lama. The company later denied the claim.

The past week witnessed a fresh round of shuttle diplomacy between China and France. The two countries have sent envoys to visit each other, conveying messages to respective leaders in the hope of mending the strained bilateral ties.

(Xinhua)