France to Open Consular Office in Shenyang

Rosemary

<p>France will open a consulate general's office in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province, in September, French Ambassador to China Herve Ladsous said yesterday. </p><p>France has opened consulates in Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and will become the sixth country to open a consular office in Shenyang. The United States, Japan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Russia, and the Republic of Korea already have offices there. </p><p>Ladsous also voiced yesterday his hope of opening an Alliance Francaise - one of the world's largest networks of French language teaching - in Shenyang. </p><p>"We're looking for partners in Shenyang. We hope to enhance cultural cooperation with Liaoning in addition to economy and trade," he said. </p><p>There are 11 Alliance Francaise institutes in China in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, where about 25,000 Chinese students are studying French, according to the French ambassador. </p>