Five years after confinement, focus on Wuhan and its French companies

Investigation five years after the covid, the Chinese city where the pandemic is trying to bounce back. A challenge also for the many French companies present on site.

© Wiretock – Stock.adobe.com – The yellow crane tower in Wuhan. “Of all the places in the world where I went to work, it is here where I was the most struck by the economic voluntarism of the public authorities.” At the end of January, while all of China rests to celebrate the New Year celebrations and go from the fire dragon to the wooden snake, the consul general of France in Wuhan, Jean-Yves Roux, takes a little time to discuss his last mission with capital. At almost 67 years old, this seasoned diplomat, about to retire, has long surveyed the provinces under his constituency since his arrival in 2022 in the capital of the province of Hubei. “This Central China is certainly less known than major more and southeast major business centers like Shanghai, Canton or Shenzen. But it’s in your best interest to bet on it too. ”Wuhan? Five years ago, the French confined themselves- like the rest of the planet- faced with the threat of COVID-19 and learned at the same time the existence of this city, almost as populated as the Paris region, from where the disease was gone. Another revelation: the presence of a thousand expatriates and a hundred tricolor companies, concentrating a good third of our local investments. Apart from specialists, few people were aware of the ancient links in reality with France. To read also: Growth: China “suffers from a crisis of confidence and needs an important stimulus” The French historically present … without going back far in history and its upheavals (the first consulate dates from 1863), it should be noted that relations have grown at first university and medical in the 1980s and then economic. Past important industrialist, Logistical Carrefour located on the Yangtsé river, in the center of a North-South (Beijing-Canton) and West-East (Chengdu-Shanghai) axis, large and well-trained labor with a renowned higher education center, lower wages than on the eastern coast and … Large encouragement of public authorities to come in this less developed region: the causes do not miss the interest of our businesses. Starting with the automobile, Wuhan’s strong point. As early as 1992, the PSA Peugeot Citroën precursor created a joint venture between Citroën and the manufacturer Dongfeng Motor to produce cars on site, Peugeot only entered dance later. Then, at their request, their equipment manufacturers logically followed. “We arrived in 1995,” confirms Cédric Gilliouard, the DG in Wuhan de Sacred, a manufacturer of joints for steering column in Eure-et-Loir (28). Also read: Electric cars: Stellantis combines with Chinese Leapmotor to push its fires in … Europe … But some leave the Regionbanque, distribution, environment, energy but also urban development, we will not list all French companies which have gradually invested on site. On the other hand, let’s find Jean-Yves Roux to take stock in 2025. Because there is change. First, even if the movement had started before the covid, many expatriates repatriated during the pandemic did not return. “Not to mention the students, there are now a little less than 300 French people, most of them have made their lives on site.” Like Sébastien Clément, arrived in 2006 to carry out quality control and which ended up launching his company in this field but also recruiting on behalf of his customers. “The groups hardly send no expatriates because it becomes too expensive.” A symbol? Air France, which had suspended in 2020 its direct service launched in 2012, no longer reopened. It is not the only company to have withdrawn. Our car manufacturers also have folded background, unable to offer models satisfying demand or to face the rise of local players on electric. The three factories of the ex-PSA which became Stellantis were sold in 2023, one of them continuing to produce some more thermal models. As for Renault, who arrived in 2016, the diamond brand stopped its SUV manufacturing in 2020. A failure, partly compensated by the success of its small electric model, Spring, built 400 kilometers from Wuhan. Hard, hard anyway for all subcontractors, forced to diversify their customers. “It was not easy, especially since the technological mastery of the Chinese has become impressive,” confirms Julien Adillon, DG China of the manufacturer of acomed cables. Opportunities to seizeparadoxically, most of them resist at the moment, provided they are on high added slots, like Valeo and its two R&D centers in the lighting and embedded software. More generally, our companies still well established (Totalenergies, Schneider Electric, Decathlon, Arte Charpentier, etc.) must deal like the others with a difficult local economic situation, not to mention the covid which still weighs on the reputation of the city. The subject remains sensitive, in particular the always irresoline question of its origin: laboratory leak (originally French, by the way) or an animal -made disease to humans. The fact remains that after 5.5% growth last year, the metropolis wants to continue its expansion. Numerous investments were made in infrastructure and real estate to modernize it and make it more pleasant to live. In addition to electrical mobility, the authorities also invest in other specialties of the future such as opto-electronics, bio-health or AI. And there, the French still lack the call. What give work to the next consul… Receive our latest news every morning, the information to remember on the financial markets.

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