China's Ambassador to France Lu Shaye said the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) has the "courage to correct its errors" and remains "faithful" to its commitment to the people, as it approaches the centenary of its foundation.

Lu was speaking at an event in Paris to debate the "Past, Present and Future of the Chinese Communist Party."

The seminar was held at the Chinese embassy in the French capital, not far from the famous Champs-Elysees shopping street.
 

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The event came ahead of July 1, the date that marks the centenary of the founding of the CPC. 

The party was formed in 1921 in Shanghai by revolutionaries including Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu. But in the years leading up to this, thousands of Chinese students used to work and study in France. 

Hundreds went specifically to the little town of Montargis in the center of the country and some of the sparks that ignited the Chinese Communist Revolution came from there in the early part of the 20th century. The speakers at the Paris event discussed this shared history. 

CGTN Europe spoke to the Chinese ambassador about how the CPC has adapted to stay relevant 100 years on from its founding. 

"We have made many mistakes, for example the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution," admitted Lu. 

"But even those failures offered us lessons and experiences that gave us a solid base for the next period, which is reform and opening up." 

The Communist leadership has guided China since 1949, bringing the country out of the ravages of civil war to its current status as major world power. 

Recently, France and China have not seen eye-to-eye when it comes to allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang, free and fair elections in Hong Kong, or the situation surrounding Taiwan. 

CGTN Europe asked the Chinese ambassador if the two countries could use their shared cultural history to improve their present relations. 

"There is always dispute and divergence," said Lu. "Culture does not have these contentious elements, so I think that that's the best actor to promote friendship, mutual knowledge and understanding between the Chinese and French peoples."