The economic and trade cooperation between Chongqing and France has yielded fruitful results
2024-05-10 15:22:42
CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- On May 6, the sixth meeting of the Sino-French Entrepreneurs Committee was held in Paris, France. Witnessed by guests from China and France, Suez Group signed the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement with Chongqing Sanfeng Environment Group Corp., Ltd., a subsidiary of Chongqing Water & Environment Holdings Group Ltd.
On May 8, the reporter learned through various interviews that the close economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges between Chongqing and France have yielded fruitful results.
A proposal to form a mayor's advisory group is put forward
The reporter learned that as of now, Suez Group has invested more than 4 billion yuan in Chongqing, and Chongqing has become one of the most important cities for its investment in China. The cooperation between the two parties has also been hailed by the industry as a model of cooperation in the water industry between China and foreign countries.
In addition to "funds", Suez Group has also provided Chongqing with "experience".
The annual meeting of Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Group will be held in late September every year. During each annual meeting, consultants and guests from the world's top 500 and multinational companies will focus on the theme of the session and offer advice and suggestions for Chongqing's development combined with its actual situation.
It is worth mentioning that the initiator of this advisory group system is Gérard Mestrallet, the Chairman of Suez Group.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Municipal Commission of Commerce, Mestrallet has served as a consultant of the Shanghai Mayor's International Entrepreneur Advisory Group and a special consultant of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive's Advisory Committee, and has rich experience in offering advice and suggestions. In 2005, he proposed to the Chongqing Municipal Government to form a mayor's advisory group.
Mestrallet believes that Chongqing had gradually become an important city in western China at that time, and the scale of urban construction and investment environment were constantly expanding and improving, but it was far inferior to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and other cities in popularity.
For this reason, he hopes that Chongqing can set up an international economic advisory group, hope that Suez Group can vigorously promote Chongqing to other countries with its world popularity and global business, and concentrate the advanced experience and suggestions of the world's large enterprises to make suggestions for Chongqing's international development.
Deeply explore manufacturing, finance and other fields in Chongqing
In addition to Suez Group, many French multinational companies have joined the mayor's advisory group, such as Schneider Electric and Sodefinance Company, all of which have been deeply involved in Chongqing for a long time.
Schneider Electric has built its first innovation center in China in Chongqing, which is mainly used to carry out intelligent manufacturing innovation experiments, intelligent manufacturing innovation research, industrial big data platform applications, industrial intelligent experience and applications, etc.
Moreover, the center also explores a path of intelligent upgrading of medium-sized enterprises by introducing high-end intelligent manufacturing talents, so as to achieve a foothold in Chongqing, radiate to the southwest, and promote the communication of advanced concepts and technology applications of intelligent manufacturing and green manufacturing.
"Sodefinance has laid out in Chongqing for many years, and I am half a Chongqing native." said by Zhang Ruling, Chairman and CEO of Sodefinance Company in an interview in September last year. Chongqing is a good choice for foreign-funded enterprises to set up their regional headquarters, and some investment cooperation projects of Sodefinance in Chongqing have also achieved ideal results.
For example, as a long-term partner of Sodefinance, the French Mersen Group has already invested and built a factory in Chongqing which is in good operation, and is currently seeking suitable opportunities to increase capacity and expand production. Another example is Chongqing Chuanyi and JCDecaux Advertising Chongqing Company, which Sodefinance holds shares. Among them, JCDecaux Advertising currently operates several lines of Chongqing rail transit and the advertising media resources of Jiangbei Airport Terminal.
Zhang Ruling also said that Sodefinance is looking forward to further cooperation with Chongqing in the fields of media operation and industrial manufacturing of rail transit, and hopes to expand investment in Chongqing in the future.
In addition to direct investment, the economic and trade exchanges between French enterprises and Chongqing are also very frequent.
For example, at the previous China International Import Expo (CIIE), Yuou signed a purchase order with Danone Group, a French food giant to introduce high-quality maternal and child products and imported milk powder into Chongqing; For another example, through the China Railway Express (Chongqing-Sinkiang-Europe International Railway), Chongqing distributed automobiles, electrical appliances, shoes and clothing and other products to France, and then transported cosmetics, mechanical parts and other products to Chongqing after gathering in France.
According to Chongqing Customs data, Chongqing exported 9.38 billion yuan of goods to France in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 24.8%, mainly including notebook computers, textiles and garments, and auto parts.
The atmosphere of humanistic exchange is getting stronger
Chongqing and France carry out economic and trade cooperation as well as humanistic exchange.
In April this year, the French ISTEC Advanced Elite Business School-Chongqing Center was unveiled. This is the first international education center and the first Chinese campus established by the French ISTEC in China.
It is understood that the center will start undergraduate, master and doctoral training. The master's training will last for two years, in the first half of which students will improve language ability and study general education courses in business schools in China; Then they will learn the core courses of subdivided majors in France for one year; In the last half year, the school recommends internships.
This cooperation can be traced back to 2023, when a cooperation exchange meeting was held between Yuzhong District of Chongqing and Amiens, France.
According to the relevant person in charge of Yuzhong District, Yuzhong District and Amiens City signed agreements such as the Innovative Strategic Partnership Promotion Agreement in 2023, which has accumulated profound friendship and laid a solid foundation in terms of win-win cooperation and common development.
In September of the same year, the Amiens City, France organized a team to inspect the commercial and cultural development of the Jiefangbei area on the spot in Yuzhong, and held an exchange meeting. During the period, Yuzhong District Investment Promotion Bureau signed an investment promotion agreement with the French Sino-French Education Exchange Association, marking a new level of cooperation between the two places in cultural exchanges and other aspects.
"French ISTEC Advanced Elite Business School-Chongqing Center is a concrete achievement signed at the exchange meeting," said the relevant person in charge of Yuzhong District.
There are many similar exchanges. For example, in October last year, "Perception of Chongqing · 2023 Chongqing Image Promotion and City Image Exhibition" was held in Paris, France. Chongqing organized a delegation to build a bridge of civilized exchanges and dialogues in foreign cities, actively displayed the image of Chongqing city to the world, promoted the characteristics of Chongqing City, and held Chongqing video exhibitions.
Another example is that in December last year, a group of teachers and students from the "Light of the Sky Girls' Choir" of Ecole Saint-Lazare, Autun, France came to Chongqing to hold a Sino-French children's chorus exchange exhibition. On the same day, teachers and students of Ecole Saint-Lazare and Chongqing Bashu Middle School experienced mathematics games such as Chinese ring puzzle, Klotski, and Rubik's Cube, traditional sports games such as martial arts performances, hoop rolling, spinning top, embroidered ball throwing, and bamboo pole dance, enjoyed traditional musical instrument performances and learned the knowledge of the Chinese zodiac. They experienced the excellent traditional Chinese culture in interesting courses, and formed a common friendship.
It is worth mentioning that on November 28 last year, the Chongqing-Paris route was officially resumed. This is also the first direct flight to Paris resumed in the central and western regions in China, which has provided assistance for subsequent exchanges between both parties. (Translated by Wang Zhong, Fathom Language Limited)
Editor:江夷玮