In China, French companies find partners in innovation
France brands itself as a country of innovation at the first China International Import Expo, where 70 French companies from different industries are taking part.
Leading a promotion campaign for innovative French businesses is the France China Committee, the oldest organization in Franco-Chinese economic relations established in 1979.
“France and China have been deepening their structural cooperation in economy and industry, especially in aviation and civilian nuclear fields where the two countries have established a true mutually beneficial partnership, but now they’re willing to diversify their cooperation in all sectors, such as in the sectors of sustainable development, health and agri-food,” said Sybille Dubois-Fontaine Turner, France China Committee CEO, on an event held at the French pavilion on the Country Exhibition on Monday.
“This cooperation will benefit large, medium and small companies to enhance closer ties between the Franco-Chinese business community,” she said.
One large company that has taking the benefit is Sanofi, a leading pharmaceutical company in the world.
Jean-Christophe Pointeau, Sanofi China CEO, said the company is cooperating with China’s largest internet and tech companies and insurance companies such as Alibaba, Tencent and Ping An, because those companies know better in their fields.
The company’s collaboration with local medical institutions has been made more effective by applying new technology such as artificial intelligence.
“By analyzing data of patients regarding their sex, life habits, diet and symptoms, we will be able to diagnose a diabetes patient as early as possible to provide better treatment to him or her,” he said.
A recent project in Meishan City of southwest China's Sichuan Province Sichuan in cooperation of a local company will track residents in the small city for long years to come and provide localized and personalized health solutions, he said.
Pointeau said taking part in the first China International Import Expo is significant for the French company, which has been doing business in China for 36 years. In his words, Sanofi is not only a French company, but also a Chinese company.
“Sanofi grows with China as it reforms and opens,” he said. “At this expo, Sanofi gets to build up its image in China and shows its staunch will to keep working in the Chinese market.”
Apart from global giants like Sanofi, French service innovators like Indigo, a leading smart parking and mobility solution provider in Europe, are also marking themselves in the booming Chinese tech landscape.
“China is very strong in the big data and new technology sector, and we from France hope to share our best practices in providing services and increasingly efficiency with our Chinese partners,” said Serge Clemente, President of Indigo Group.
Clemente said Indigo has an innovation center in China which mainly develops technology to increase the duration of batteries for electronic vehicles. The company also looks to develop an app which integrates shared cars, bikes and e-bikes.
He revealed that after analyzing the Chinese market for four years, Indigo and its Chinese partner will establish a joint-venture in China within the next few months and set foot in smart parking first in mid-sized Chinese cities. Those cities can have millions of residents.
“Our idea is to offer entire urban solutions for parking by driving parking largely underground to increase street parking space for shared bikes and e-bikes and connecting parking with green public transportation,” he said.
