The inauguration ceremony of the new Consulate-General of France in Wuhan took place on October 10. Mayor Cheng Yongwen of Wuhan City, French Ambassador to China Bertrand Lortholary, French Consul-General in Wuhan Jean-Yves Roux, and Director-General Zhang Xiaomei of Hubei FAO attended the ceremony.

Ribbon cutting ceremony

Twenty-five years ago on the same day, France established its consulate-general in Wuhan, serving Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces. Over the past two and a half decades, the consulate-general has played an active role in facilitating exchanges and cooperation between central China and France in various fields such as education, technology, culture, tourism, and environmental protection.

Mayor Cheng thanked the French Embassy in China and the Consulate-General in Wuhan for their support for and interest in Wuhan’s socio-economic development. He noted that next year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic ties. Guided by the consensus of our two leaders, Wuhan and France should have more practical cooperation for mutual benefit so as to sustain the enduring friendship between China and France.

Ambassador Lortholary stressed the importance of Wuhan for China-France cooperation. The French Consulate-General in Wuhan is indeed, in his words, a witness to the increasingly closer ties at subnational level and among business communities between the two sides. He hopes that the consulate-general will bring the bilateral relation to a new height.

The new French Consulate-General in Wuhan is located at the International Intelligence Center, Jiang’an District, with a building area of approximately 1,600 square meters.