BEIJING, April 10 (Xinhua) -- China hopes to further expand cooperation with France in trade and investment as well as the training of managing personnel of enterprises, said Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan on Tuesday.

    Zeng made the remarks at the 13th China-France Economic Seminar opened in Beijing Tuesday morning.

    Addressing more than 500 entrepreneurs at the seminar, Zeng said China and France have strengthened political trust and increased mutual investment over the years.

    Bilateral cooperation projects have witnessed rapid progress, including the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant and the Airbus 320 assembly line, Zeng said.

    Calling France as China's reliable cooperation partner and an important country in the European Union, Zeng said China's further development would provide even more business opportunities for other countries including France.

    "We are ready to cement all-round cooperation with France in the areas of high-tech, agriculture, environmental protection and small and medium-sized enterprises in a bid to promote bilateral trade and investment up to a new stage," he said.

    The two-day seminar focuses on the subject of "Chinese enterprise managers of the 21st century", during which French entrepreneurs will share experience with their Chinese counterparts on management of companies and human resources.

    Zeng said that the Chinese government considers it an important and pressing task to cultivate outstanding managing talents for enterprises.

    While training its own personnel, China will also actively introduce into capable foreign talents in the areas of technology,management, trade, finance and law, and create sound working condition for them, he said.

    He hoped foreign enterprises that invest in China would hire more local managing personnel in a bid to better tap the Chinese market.

    Former French President Velery Giscard D'estaing also attended the opening ceremony of the seminar. He spoke highly of the seminar's role in consolidating trade ties between the two countries, adding the French business community will continue to participate in China's economic construction.

    The seminar, co-hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and French France-China Committee, has been held annually since 1995.