Hollande the shining light in 'star chamber' selfie in Beijing

By Yan Dongjie (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2015-11-04 18:40

Jack Ma, Chinese e-commerce tycoon and founder of Alibaba Group, holds up a seflie stick to take a group photo with visiting French President Francois Hollande in Beijing, Nov 3. [Photo/Agencies]

A selfie of an influential president and elite Chinese business tycoons got China's social media websites buzzing.

Visiting French President Francois Hollande took the selfie with a pack of China's leading entrepreneurs after a "bling bling" breakfast at the Sofitel Wanda Hotel in Beijing, which also hosted former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni during their visit to China in 2007.

The photo that earned tens of thousands of comments on Weibo was dubbed by Chinese Internet users as being worth one trillion yuan ($157.8 billion) in terms of a total annual revenues of the companies they represent.

The weighty Chinese business leaders lending their smiling faces included Chinese e-commerce tycoon Jack Ma – founder of Alibaba Group; China's richest man Wang Jianlin – chairman of Dalian Wanda Group; Liu Chuanzhi – founder and chairman of Lenovo as well as five other magnates.

A selfie that is dubbed by Chinese Internet users as being worth one trillion yuan ($157.8 billion) in terms of a total annual revenues of the companies they represent. [Photo/Agencies]

The breakfast and selfie events became a lighthearted aspect of a forum organized by the China Entrepreneur Club, which recruits the country's most influential entrepreneurs, economists and diplomats.

Hollande expressed his confidence in China's economy despite its slowdown at the meeting.

He predicted a robust future for prospective cooperation between the two countries, saying that all French industries are open to Chinese for cooperation and investment.

"About 3,000 French companies have entered China and hire about 500,000 Chinese, while there are 200 Chinese companies in France with more than 20,000 local people," said Hollande.

The president said that China and France will insist on innovation and green development in future cooperation, focusing on digitization.

See what Chinese business tycoons have said at the forum.