Chapter 63 Napoleon's "favor"

Wu Jianmin's outstanding performance in defying power and bravely safeguarding national dignity at the Human Rights Conference in Geneva made the central leadership very satisfied. In November 1998, Jiang Zemin appointed Wu Jianmin as Chinese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France. France is one of the most important countries in China's foreign relations, and it is also a promising partner for China in Western Europe. On January 27, 1964, China and France established diplomatic relations. France became the first major western country to establish formal diplomatic relations with my country. It was also the first major western country to sign a scientific and technological cooperation agreement, a long-term economic cooperation agreement and an aviation agreement with my country.In recent years, Sino-French relations have shown an unprecedented development momentum, and China and France have relatively tacit cooperation in international political relations.

Undoubtedly, China attaches great importance to France.Among the successive Chinese ambassadors to France, Huang Zhen (later director of the Liaison Office in the United States and vice minister of foreign affairs), Zeng Tao (later deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress), Han Kehua (later director of the National Tourism Vice Minister), Zhou Jue (later assistant to the foreign minister, vice president of the China Society for Human Rights Studies), and Cai Fangbai (later vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress) are all elite figures in China's diplomatic circles.In this sense, Wu Jianmin's appointment in Paris shows the trust of Chinese leaders in Wu Jianmin, and at the same time implies to the French government that the Chinese government attaches great importance to France.

Although Wu Jianmin has no contact with President Chirac, he is no stranger to this suave French politician. When Wu Jianmin served in the United Nations in 1974, Chirac had already served as Prime Minister of France. In 1976, Chirac resigned as prime minister, founded the Alliance for the Defense of the Republic and served as its chairman; but he came out twice in 1986 and 1988 and served as the prime minister of the government until he was elected president of France in 1995. Wu Jianmin also heard two unconfirmed "trivia" about Chirac's visit to China in 1997: In order to deliberately pursue "popularization", Chirac declined the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse arranged for him by the Chinese government and stayed in a French-funded hotel In order to abide by the traffic rules in Beijing, he asked his limousine to stop at the red light, which made the security personnel of China and France very embarrassed.

Chirac's legendary experience and romantic and frank personality once made Wu Jianmin very curious and admired.Wu Jianmin hoped that by getting in touch with Chirac, he could learn more about this senior politician, so as to expand new space for Sino-French relations. Since Wu Jianmin's French is very good, and he has a deep study of French history and culture, when he went to the President's Office to submit his credentials to Chirac, Chirac had four long talks with him as if he was seeing an old friend. hours, which is rare in the history of world diplomacy. In fact, since then, Wu Jianmin's diplomatic work in France has satisfied the leaders of both China and France. President Jiang Zemin’s visit to France in October 1999 started from Lyon, the hometown of President Chirac, and President Chirac’s visit to China in October 2000 started from Yangzhou, the hometown of President Jiang, so that the leaders of the two countries established a strong personal relationship. Wu Jianmin's generous diplomacy is unprecedented in the history of Sino-French diplomacy.

The Western "Group of Seven" and later the "Group of Eight", known as the "Club of the Rich", invited Chinese leaders to their meetings many times, but China did not attend.France was the host of the 2003 "G8" summit, and by convention, the host has the right to invite some non-member states to attend.Therefore, in January 2003, Chirac proposed to invite some developing countries including China, India and Brazil, as well as poor countries in Africa to participate in the informal dialogue between North and South leaders held during the summit.Although China has never had a direct dialogue with the "G7" or "G8", out of strategic considerations, the Chinese government decided to actively participate in the dialogue in response to Chirac's invitation.

On June 1, 2003, President Hu Jintao attended the North-South Informal Dialogue Meeting held in Evian, France. As Chinese Ambassador to France, Wu Jianmin accompanied President Hu Jintao to participate in almost all activities during the meeting. The interpreter cannot be present, and he often acts as an interpreter temporarily.Wu Jianmin took advantage of this rare opportunity to help the leaders of China and France communicate effectively, and the two heads of state quickly established a good personal relationship.Afterwards, Chirac expressed his sincere gratitude to Wu Jianmin for his work and spoke highly of President Hu Jintao.

Shortly after President Hu concluded his trip to Evian, Wu Jianmin's 4 years and 8 months of office in France will also come to an end. Hearing the news that Wu Jianmin was about to leave office and return to China, President Chirac had mixed feelings.He hopes to catch up with Ambassador Wu before he leaves Paris, but in terms of etiquette, the French president does not receive the outgoing ambassador. On June 27, 2003, Chirac made an exception to accept Wu Jianmin's farewell at the Elysee Palace of the Presidential Palace, and awarded Wu Jianmin the "Grand Knight of the Legion of Honor of France" to commend the Chinese ambassador for "promoting friendly relations between France and China." and the French understand the contribution China has made".

The Legion of Honor is the highest commendation award in France. It was created in 1802 when Napoleon was the chief executive, to honor French and foreign soldiers and civilians who have made outstanding contributions.The Order of Honor is divided into five levels, and the Order of the Grand Knight belongs to the second most prominent level, second only to the Cross of the Order awarded by the President of France to foreign heads of state. In 1962, President de Gaulle stipulated the upper limit of the number of people who could be awarded honors at all levels, and the maximum number of recipients of the Grand Knight Medal could not exceed 250.

Before the award, President Chirac had a cordial conversation with Ambassador Wu Jianmin and his wife Shi Yanhua.Chirac said that France-China relations have entered a new period of development, and he is very satisfied with this.He also specifically mentioned Wu Jianmin's efforts in helping the Chinese and French heads of state to establish close relations. At the awarding ceremony, President Chirac personally affixed the medal to Wu Jianmin, and then, the presidential palace opened champagne to celebrate the Chinese ambassador.Chirac humorously said to Shi Yanhua, half of this medal is yours.The ambassador and his wife expressed their gratitude to Chirac and the French government for attaching great importance to Sino-French relations and caring for overseas Chinese in France.Wu Jianmin said: "This honor is not only for me personally, but also for China."

After the ceremony, Chirac invited Wu Jianmin and his wife to visit the presidential office.Wu Jianmin saw that Chinese cultural relics such as bronzes from the Shang Dynasty, Guanyin statues in the Southern Song Dynasty, and poems inscribed by President Jiang Zemin to President Chirac were displayed in Chirac's office. When parting, Chirac personally sent Wu Jianmin and his wife to the gate.Wu Jianmin saw Chirac's expression at that moment was very complicated, and he himself was not.They must all think of the hard-won Sino-French friendship established in the complicated international environment over the years, and their first meeting 4 years ago, the unforgettable 4-hour conversation.