France and China deepen science and space ties

One area where France and China have been expanding their cooperation is in the fields of science and space.

In 2018 the two nations jointly launched a satellite to allow scientists to better understand interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere.

And during his visit to China in April 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron was presented with 1.5 grams of moon dust that had been brought to Earth by China's Chang'e-5 space mission.

The gift from Chinese President Xi Jinping included one gram scooped from the moon's surface and half a gram of subsurface material obtained by drilling.

Those tiny grains have potential in helping us here on Earth answer major questions about space, Jean Duprat, a research director at France's Natural History Museum, told CGTN.

He said: "Extra-terrestrial material teaches us different things and informs us about the stars before the solar system, but above all the formation of the solar system, the formation of our star - the Sun - the formation of the planets, and the satellites of the planets, and in this instance, our satellite - the Moon."

At the Paris Institute of Planetary Physics, scientists analyze the gases that are present in rocks that fall to Earth, as well as in samples that are brought back.

"We are lucky that we already have some samples from the Moon from American missions with Apollo and now from the Chinese mission with the Chang'e mission with meteorites," explained Frederic Moynier, professor of cosmochemistry.

Dust from the Moon can help us understand our own planet's history.

"We have rocks from the Moon that are all much more ancient than the most ancient rocks from the Earth," said Moynier. "So the Moon gives you information of probably what happened in the first minutes in the life of the Earth."

China has a national space program, while France is a major player in the European Space Agency. It also has a crucial role in getting Europe's rockets airborne, launched from France's overseas territory of French Guiana in South America.

The gift of lunar dust from president to president underlines the importance both countries place on space missions and scientific research, with the two leaders agreeing during Macron's 2023 visit to speed up bilateral cooperation in science and technology.

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