BEIJING, April 7 -- Thirty-six Chinese and French enterprises inked 18 agreements to expand cooperation in areas including manufacturing, green development, new energy and innovation at a meeting of Chinese and French entrepreneurs on Thursday, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Friday.

In an opening speech, MOC official Yu Yuantang said the trade volume between China and France has increased from 60 billion U.S. dollars to 80 billion U.S. dollars in the past five years.

In 2022, China-EU cooperation overcame multiple adverse impacts and achieved steady progress, with bilateral trade hitting a new high of 847.3 billion U.S. dollars and new investment from European companies in China up 70 percent to 12.1 billion U.S. dollars, Yu said.

Representatives from companies such as Bank of China, BNP Paribas, the China National Nuclear Corporation and Electricite de France discussed topics ranging from jointly braving global challenges to promoting cooperation, and made suggestions on deepening China-France economic and trade ties.

They also vowed to seize the opportunities of China's high-quality development, ensure stable industrial and supply chains, and expand cooperation in areas from nuclear energy to finance and consumption.