Great-granddaughter of General de Gaulle: "What makes Sino-French relations strong is a long-term and continuous development and renewal"

General de Gaulle's great-granddaughter Natalie de Gaulle is now the founder and head of NB-INOV.

According to the European Times, Nathalie de Gaulle, the great-granddaughter of General de Gaulle and the founder and head of NB-INOV, recently gave an exclusive interview to Europe, not only talking about what he saw and heard in China twice, but also commenting on the "China threat theory", the prospects of Sino-European cooperation, and the continuation of de Gaulleism in France. Her views on "making Sino-French relations strong are long-term and sustained development and renewal", "avoiding the trap of clash of civilizations", and "international cooperation is imperfect but indispensable" are remarkable, and she will publish the interview as follows for the benefit of readers.

Ou Shi: You have traveled to China twice, please share with us your experience in China and your impressions of China. In addition, what is your special understanding of The characteristics of Chinese culture?

Natalie de Gaulle: My family and I first came to China in 2014 at the invitation of the Chinese government to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. My second trip to China was in 2019 at the invitation of Dr. Chau Chak Wing and the Nizami Ganjavi International Center to speak at the Imperial Springs International Forum.

I admire the dynamism and strength of this ancient country. As an entrepreneur, I had the opportunity to meet passionate entrepreneurs and highly qualified scholars. What they all have in common is that they are all genuinely confident in the future and have demonstrated pragmatism, motivation and solid professionalism in the digital and climate change areas.

Ou Shi: You have created an association to promote cultural exchanges between France and Arabia, and do you have any plans to promote Sino-French exchanges in the future?

Natalie de Gaulle: Why not? Both Chinese culture and French culture have a thousand-year history and have nourished each other for a long time.

Remarkably, Louis XIV pioneered a firm cultural policy toward China: a policy that, driven by genuine curiosity, enabled people to truly understand China, while also maintaining an unprecedented diplomatic relationship with China.

On the other hand, many Translators of French literature emerged in China from the end of the 19th century. Lin Shu (Zi: Qinnan) took the lead and translated Dumas's La Traviata, followed by rousseau, Hugo and Tu de's works as Chinese.

In the 20th century, Sino-French cultural exchanges were further strengthened, and Leaders of Chinese political or cultural circles such as Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and Zao Wou-Ki came to Paris to study or work. In France, from 1909 onwards, the poet and physician Victor Segalen was both an explorer and a lover of Chinese culture. All of these represent the richness and vitality of Sino-French exchanges.

Therefore, the artists of the two countries have never stopped communicating, and trying to enrich themselves from their differences. The cultural dialogue between China and France has never stopped, and this is certainly an important area that needs to continue to maintain exchanges.

Euros: As an entrepreneur, do you have any experience dealing with Chinese companies in your day-to-day business? What do you think is the reason why Sino-French trade has not performed better?

Natalie de Gaulle: I don't think Sino-French trade is underperforming, although there seems to be room for improvement. China and France established a comprehensive partnership in 1997 and a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2004, which provides a framework for the comprehensive development of bilateral relations. This pioneering partnership is based on a core mechanism: the China-France Strategic Dialogue, which aims to provide a special consultative space for our two countries to discuss bilateral and global issues.

Our cooperation, which includes commercial cooperation, revolves around several main axes:

• Responding to the climate crisis. At present, it mainly involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing a decarbonized economy, as well as addressing ocean warming and acidification and biodiversity conservation. These issues are of vital importance to humanity, and it is clear that our bilateral cooperation must benefit from sustained developments consistent with The Recommendations of the United Nations: mitigation, protection, recovery and adaptation.

• Develop strategic partnerships in civil nuclear power, aviation, agriculture and science, particularly in the medical sector. In my view, bilateral cooperation can be strengthened in a spirit of reciprocity through political, commercial or academic means.

In addition, there are many cultural projects underway between France and China: cultural heritage, architecture, music, theatrical performances, films. All of these areas are a testament to the diversity and creativity of the relationship between the two countries.

But what ultimately makes Sino-French relations strong is the long-term and sustained development and renewal. All of these exchanges validate the true commercial, technological, and cultural dynamism between our two countries, and over time these dynamic exchanges need to be strengthened and developed.

Ou Shi: You have a wealth of experience working and living abroad, how does this experience affect your view of French policy? What is your opinion of the candidates for the general election who all wear the banner of Gaulle, but they all take only charles de Gaulle?

Natalie de Gaulle: I have been to many countries, but I still have a close relationship with my home country. De Gaulleism is part of contemporary French history. General de Gaulle was also part of French public life: today everyone acknowledges the outstanding role he played and tries to match his famous "certaine idée de la France" (Certaine idée de la France).

Perhaps some French people miss The leading role france played during the era of General de Gaulle, but the global landscape has changed, becoming the multipolar world that de Gaulle had foreseen.

In addition to the electoral agenda, I am confident that de Gaulle doctrine will continue in the institutions of the French Fifth Republic and in the will to build a strong France in independent Europe.

OU Shi: Given the cascading problems caused by the epidemic, how do you think multilateralism will be affected? What are the main challenges of international cooperation?

Natalie de Gaulle: In the 21st century, the challenges facing humanity are enormous, so addressing this situation requires the cooperation of all.

In addition to the climate and biodiversity crises already mentioned, there are other threats that await us: resource and energy shortages, water shortages, public health crises, armed conflicts, the role of artificial intelligence – and all against the backdrop of unprecedented population growth.

All countries, wherever they are located, face these problems without exception. Who can believe that countries that act only in their own interests and do not consider other countries and the framework of multilateralism can offer comprehensive solutions?

International cooperation is not perfect, but it is essential. Countries may not be able to agree, but systemic mechanisms are needed to address future global challenges. Every effort must be made to enable the institutions that implement multilateralism to carry out their work in a sober, pragmatic and efficient manner.

From this perspective, initiatives such as the Paris Agreement, the Biodiversity Conference, or WHO's ACT-A ("Accelerated Access to COVID-19 Tools") are moving in the right direction. These are important tools for building a vision for a better world. These plans must be carried out in a spirit of equal cooperation and the strengthening of public-private enterprise cooperation must be encouraged.

EU: How do you think the sino-US tension will affect the prospects for China-EU, Sino-French cooperation? China does not have a fundamental conflict of interest with Europe and France, but why is the "China threat theory" still prevalent? Is the proposal put forward by some French candidates in the general election somehow calling for the return of authoritarianism?

Natalie de Gaulle: All of us are waiting for a more peaceful world to better sort out the challenges we're going to face. The "clash of civilizations trap" is not uncommon, and it should certainly be avoided. Only a long-term, clear and sincere dialogue can avoid the fears caused by the current tensions between the two major Powers.

In this context, fruitful and sustained exchanges between China and the EU are more necessary than ever, as parallel and complementary exchanges that are indispensable and complementary to the indispensable and direct relationship between Beijing and Paris.

The greatest challenge lies ahead of us, and all countries must play their role "together" rather than succumbing to the threat theory. We need to maintain the spirit of mutual assistance and reciprocity, because the next few decades will be crucial for both the East and the West. (Yasuki)

Source: China News Network