E-Malt.com News article: 3434

China & France: Jean-Jacques Vorimore, head of France Export Cereales, said during the visit of French President Jacques Chirac in China: "We are also working on (a deal for) malting barley. China is the top beer producer and France is the top producer of malting barley." China needs between 1.5 million and 2 million tonnes of malting barley a year, he said.

French President Jacques Chirac hailed business deals worth 4 billion euros ($4.93 billion) on Sunday, October 10, as a sign that a state visit to China intended to improve economic ties has been a success.

But in a French television interview on the third day of a visit to China, Chirac said small French firms must do more to break into Beijing's huge market and said he had discreetly raised human rights issues during his trip.


12 October, 2004