China Attracts French Investment

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 ◆ China Attracts French Investment

The Peugeot-Citroen Group is hopeful about the prospects for developing Chinese market, said Xavier Fels, vice-president of the French car group, Thursdayat the "Fair France-China 2001."

China"s high economic growth rate, its huge market scale and its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) have made it attractive to foreign car manufacturers, said Fels.

The five-day fair, sponsored by the French government and the Agency for the International Development of Enterprises of France,has received participants from over 150 French enterprises including renowned brands such as Peugeot, Carrefour, Airbus and Total.

Francois Huwart, secretary of state of the Ministry of Economy,Finance and Industry in charge of external trade of France said atthe fair that with China"s accession to the WTO, France should strengthen bilateral trade cooperation with China by increasing the number of French enterprises in China.

According to statistics, by September 2001, French enterprises had directly invested in 1,830 projects in China, involving 6.1 billion U.S. dollars These investments are mainly focused on automobiles, retailing, electronic facilities and the chemical industry.

The Carrefour Group, the second-largest retailing group in the world and another fair participant, has set up 27 supermarkets in 15 Chinese cities, and will establish global shopping centers in 10 Chinese cities before long.

At the fair, the Airbus company has put its huge jet plane A380on display. Airbus is conducting cooperation with China in technological transfer concerning wings for A320 airplanes, and isconfident about its investment prospects in China, according to Airbus sources.( People's Daily )