The Case for Laying the Cornerstones

Abstract

When French president Nicholas Sarkozy made a state visit to China in November 2007, he went about with standard diplomatic protocol and measured political rhetoric, no doubt to the relief of French companies in China given his colourful character and propensity for occasional controversies back home. On that trip, his team secured US$30 billion worth of contracts for French companies, again no doubt securing political points amongst business communities back home. That would have marked the end of a typical presidential visit to China for any head of state. But not this one: In between discussions on pressing global matters such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and the Darfur civil war, President Sarkozy found time in his tight three-day schedule to discuss what had come to be commonly known as the Wahaha Dispute with his counterpart President Hu Jintao.