France, China Express N. Korea Concern

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, right, gestures to French President Jacques Chirac, prior to their meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006. Chirac is in Beijing leading a 30-strong business delegation reflecting France's commitment to engagement with one of the world's largest economies. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool) (Christophe Ena - AP)

BEIJING -- The presidents of France and China pledged Thursday to work toward a peaceful resolution of the North Korean and Iranian nuclear disputes, expressing "grave concern" about Pyongyang's nuclear test in a joint statement.

French President Jacques Chirac and Chinese President Hu Jintao also promised to "keep in close and regular contact and work to find a peaceful solution of the Iran nuclear issue," though they did not mention any new initiatives.

Both Paris and Beijing hold permanent U.N. Security Council seats with power to veto U.N. actions.

"Faced with the behavior of North Korea and Iran, multilateralism must be effective," Chirac said later in a speech to students at elite Peking University. "Not doing anything would be to resign ourselves to threats to peace and international stability."

The joint statement also said the leaders signed a declaration to "promote and protect human rights" but no details were given.

French officials said before the meeting that Chirac would raise human rights concerns with Chinese leaders, including the Sept. 30 shooting by border guards of a group of Tibetans attempting to flee to Nepal. Beijing says Chinese forces were attacked and acted in self-defense.

One woman _ a 25-year-old Buddhist nun _ was killed immediately in the shooting, group members said. Chinese officials, in a statement, have said a second person also died.

Chirac arrived Wednesday with a 30-strong business delegation, reflecting efforts to expand ties in nuclear power, railways and other areas where France is a major player. French trade ties to China _ the world's fourth-largest economy _ have nearly doubled since 2000 but are still relatively slim.

On Thursday, China signed an order for 150 of Airbus Industrie's mid-size A320 to be made in a planned Airbus factory in China and a letter of intent to buy 20 of Airbus's larger planned A350s.

Airbus also took a major step toward opening the factory, signing a framework agreement with Chinese partners for the facility, which is due to start production in the eastern city of Tianjin in 2009.