中国政府昨日对尼古拉?萨科齐(Nicolas Sarkozy)要求人民币兑欧元汇率加速升值的呼吁置之不理，并告知这位来访的法国总统，将继续“渐进”地推进汇率改革。

China yesterday waved aside a call from Nicolas Sarkozy for accelerated appreciation of the renminbi against the euro, telling the visiting French president it would continue its exchange rate reforms at its own “gradual” pace.

在中国贸易顺差日益扩大之际，在汇率问题上缺乏共识——加之中国与欧盟在食品安全方面的争执，突显中欧之间不断上升的政治敏感度。

The lack of currency consensus – together with a separate spat between Beijing and Brussels on food safety – highlighted the increasing political sensitivity of Sino-EU economic issues amid a soaring Chinese trade surplus.

但通过给予法国大型企业价值约230亿美元的合同，中国政府软化了在人民币汇率问题上的强硬立场，提升了萨科齐让法国在欧洲对华出口中占据更大份额的期望。

However, Beijing softened its tough stance on the Chinese currency by awarding big French companies contracts worth an estimated $23bn, boosting President Sarkozy’s hopes for a greater share of Europe’s exports to the region.

目前，中国经济迅速增长。在对华出口方面，法国远远落后于德国，只排在第十位，所占市场份额约为1.4%。欧元走强，加深了法国与其它欧洲企业对与美元挂钩经济体出口方面的问题。

France currently lags far behind Germany in exporting to the rapidly growing Chinese economy, and is currently ranked 10th with a market share of roughly 1.4 per cent. The strength of the euro has compounded the problems of French and other European companies exporting to dollar-linked economies.

在同中国国家主席胡锦涛会晤之后，萨科齐呼吁施行“和谐与公平的”汇率机制。

Following a meeting with Hu Jintao, Chinese president, Mr Sarkozy called for currency rates that were “harmonious and fair”.

然而，中国总理温家宝后来向萨科齐表示，中国政府将按照渐进性原则推进汇率机制改革，并且没有承诺改变人民币兑欧元汇率近期走弱的趋势。

However, Wen Jiabao, the premier, later told the French president that Beijing would stick with its gradualist approach to reform of its exchange rate mechanism and made no commitment to reversing the renminbi's recent decline against the euro.

但中国政府强调，愿意缩小贸易顺差。空中客车公司(Airbus)似乎成了最大的受益者，意外得到160架飞机、价值120亿欧元（合178亿美元）的订单。

Beijing did stress its willingness to narrow the trade surplus. Airbus appears to have been the biggest beneficiary, with the surprise award of a €12bn ($17.8bn) contract for 160 aircraft.

由首席执行官安妮?洛韦容(Anne Lauvergeon，又译罗薇中)执掌的核工程与铀矿集团阿海珐(Areva)宣布签订有史以来最大的合同，设计并建设两个新的核反应堆，而国家控股的公共事业企业法国电力公司(EDF)将通过一家中国合资企业参股这个项目。阿尔卡特-朗迅公司(Alcatel-Lucent)和涡轮机制造商阿尔斯通(Alstom)也分别宣布与中方签署了协议。

Areva, the nuclear engineering and uranium mining group under chief executive Anne Lauvergeon, announced its biggest ever contract to design and build two new nuclear reactors, while EDF, the state-controlled utility, will own a stake through a Chinese joint venture. Alcatel-Lucent and Alstom, the turbine maker, also announced deals.