Cooperation rather than competition, and change of economic growth model will be the key to create a new balance in the world, said Dominique De Villepin, former French prime minister and current chairman of Asia Pacific CEO Association.

De Villepin made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the Global Times Monday.

De Villepin was making his stopover in Beijing for the 1st World Emerging Industries Summit to be held in Jilin Province starting tomorrow.

"I want to emphasize the importance of trying to change our view in the coming years. We have an important challenge to go from a competition economy to cooperation economy. It's important to use G20 as our common tool to realize this possibility," he said.

France will chair the G20 Summit next year.

There is a misunderstanding and a fear in France and Europe that China's economic development would create unemployment difficulties for us, said De Villepin.

Many French factories and companies closed during the global financial crisis, which French media often blamed the price competition of Chinese counterparts.

Another challenge is how to make the resources dependent economy based on clean energy utilizing solar, wind and nuclear power, he said.

There have been frequent exchanges between France and China in the past year with the visits of high ranking officials including current French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and President Nicolas Sarkozy to China in December and April.

The trade volume between the two countries reached $25.5 billion in the first seven months, up 38.9 percent year-on-year.

"We admire what China has achieved economically, and we hope that important dialogue with China can contribute to the new balance of the world," he said.