PARIS, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- France welcomed China's decision to ban the ivory trade and processing by the end of 2017, the country's foreign ministry said on Thursday.
In a statement issued by the Quai d'Orsay, Paris reiterated its "commitment to combating poaching and illegal trade of wild species, and mainly in the fight against the elephant ivory trade."
France also called on state parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to prohibit any ivory trading.
CITES, which took effect in 1975, banned the ivory trade in 1989.
Last week, China announced a phased schedule to stop part of ivory processing and sales by March 31, 2017, and to eventually stop all ivory processing and sales by the end of 2017.
The plan also encourages shifting ivory carvers to other materials and preserving ivory carvings for their non-commercial cultural value.
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