As this year marks the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, there is a growing interest in furthering educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries, exemplified by the sister-city relationship between Hangzhou and Nice.

Cecile Claris, head of the Institution Saint-Joseph de Roquebrune, about 20 kilometers east of Nice, said her school is looking forward to having more exchanges with Chinese counterparts, especially resuming cooperation with Hangzhou Foreign Languages School, a bond forged in 2009.