A more open and transparent Chinese market following the country's formal accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has attracted more French entrepreneurs to China.
The strong interest in China among French businesses is apparent at the ongoing French high-tech exposition in Beijing.
More than 150 French firms have brought to Beijingers their latest technologies and products in electronics, aerospace, information and telecommunications, transportation, machinery, construction, energy and other fields.
Airbus' A380 passenger jet is surely one of the most impressive showpieces at the expo.
Guy Mcleod, president of Airbus China, said, "China's infrastructure has been improving rapidly. The huge market and profit potential from China's western region development and the opportunities brought by increasing mergers represent big chances for foreign firms."
He Ping, an official with French retail giant Carrefour, said the expo offers a chance for his firm to share its management expertise with its Chinese counterparts, in view of the challenges facing the industry following China's accession to the WTO.
Peugeot, who withdrew from its Chinese joint venture in 1997 due to losses, is considering a comeback.
"We can not afford to lose another chance in China," said a company official.
Jean-Claude Karpeles, chairman of the French Agency for International Enterprise Development, said China's economic development has been so impressive that it has become an indispensable partner for French firms, while France has the technological and production resources that could meet China's needs for industrial development in the wake of its entry into the WTO.
(Xinhua News Agency November 24,2001)
