BEIJING, May 9 -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday that it will work with French authorities to promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The MOC and the French foreign ministry recently signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the strengthening of cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises, with the aim of creating a better business environment for cooperation between such firms, MOC spokesperson He Yadong told a briefing.

The sixth meeting of the China-France Business Council was successfully held recently, with companies signing 15 cooperation deals in the fields of finance, nuclear energy, aviation, manufacturing and new energy, He added.

Over the past 60 years since China and France established diplomatic relations, their bilateral trade volume has seen a nearly 800-fold increase, reaching 78.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, He said.

Total two-way investment has exceeded 26 billion U.S. dollars over the past six decades while more than 2,000 French companies are currently conducting business in China, He noted.