On July 14, 2025, Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei, upon invitation, attended the French National Day reception hosted by the Embassy of France in China, and met with French Ambassador to China Bertrand Lortholary.

Hong Lei extended congratulations to the French side on its National Day. He said that in the face of a complex and volatile international situation, President Xi Jinping and President Emmanuel Macron have maintained close strategic communication, which has guided the steady and sound development of bilateral relations and vigorous exchanges and cooperation in various fields, injecting valuable certainty into the world. China is ready to work with France to implement the important common understandings reached between the two heads of state, strengthen solidarity and coordination, jointly practice multilateralism and safeguard fairness and justice, and make greater contributions to world peace and stability as well as the development and progress of humanity.

French Ambassador to China Bertrand Lortholary said that in the first half of this year, high-level exchanges between France and China have been frequent, multilateral coordination has been effective, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges have made new progress, marking a good start for the second 60 years of France-China relations. France is willing to work with China to maintain the positive momentum of bilateral relations, promote better development of EU-China relations, and join hands to tackle global challenges.