June 2011, the representative of SFDEC (Sino-French Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone of Chateauroux) participated in the 9th CISIS expos. Mrs. Paulette Picard, the vice president of ACFCI (The Assembly of French Chambers of Commerce and Industry), gave an impressive speech concerning the software outsourcing businesses of Europe during the conference. High-tech, software and IT have always been the focus of French government; in addition, municipal government of Chateauroux and government of Centre Region also hold a positive attitude towards the future of high-tech software & IT industry of SFDEC, expecting the cooperation and communication between China and France in such sectors can be strengthened. The High-tech R & D Center and Software & IT Park, which will be established during the later phase of the Zone, can be a perfect base and platform for Chinese and French enterprises cooperating in IT sectors.
Till 2011, China’s “go global” strategy has been implemented for 11 years. During this period, the scale and capital of Chinese enterprises’ “going global” are greatly enlarged. In 2009, China’s net amount of direct oversea investment reaches 56.53 billion dollars, which is over 50 times of 2000. In 2010, domestic enterprises have directly invested in 129 countries/regions.
Though China’s oversea investment is increasingly enlarged, there still exist several problems. First, Chinese enterprises mainly invested in developing countries of Asia and Africa, accumulating fortune through cheap local labors and low construction cost, which, however, proves not quite effective for improving internal mechanism and competitiveness of enterprise. Second, the main force investing in foreign countries is still large-scale enterprise, which is more powerful and risk-resistant, capable of handling various complicated political situations or macro-economy changes occurring in the invested country. However, the middle or small scale enterprises can hardly invest abroad independently due to their size, difficulties in financing, lack of international management talents, etc. Every time the domestic economy changes, middle and small scale enterprises have to face challenges of company bottlenecks and economy reshuffle.
The major challenge faced by middle or small scale enterprise is how to learn R&D and management experiences of developed countries so as to promote enterprise transformation, upgrade competitiveness and be winner in the changing markets: on one hand, the enterprise shall keep improving itself; on the other hand, limited by scale and capital, it can hardly achieve transformation and expansion.
With strengthening economic power, China plays more and more important role in the world. It is a destined way for Chinese enterprises to explore oversea markets, enforce enterprise transformation, improve company competitiveness and establish globalized Chinese brand.
SFDEC, which is jointly advocated by China National Light Industry Council and French Government in the times of “going global”, is just the platform for Chinese enterprise to enter Europe.
As China’s first economic & trade cooperation zone established in the developed countries, SFDEC, featuring its great investment potential, is one of the most promising project among the Sino-French economic cooperation activities. Considering the needs of French government and local political & economy organizations, SFDEC will be managed by the administrative council of the zone, which is jointly founded by Chinese and French political and economy organizations; enterprises in the zone can enjoy favorable policies of China, EU, France and local government.
The Zone locates in the CBD of Chateauroux, Indre Province, Centre Region of France. It features extraordinary geographical position, only 220km from Paris. Covering 780 ha, the project will be developed through 4 phases. The Zone will be based on French market and extended to surrounding European markets. From the perspective of sustainable development, the zone will become a new platform for Chinese and French enterprises going global, in terms of policies, finance, brand, HR, technical communication, business start-ups, market exploration, etc. To achieve this, the zone will cultivate talents of international trades & commerce and industrial development, promote the research of new industries and technical innovation of traditional sectors and enhance technological & industrial communications and cooperation.
Based upon the overall strategy and functional orientation, the zone will stick to the themes of “high-tech, ecology, garden-like and industrialization”. Considering the recent national situations of China and France, the present focus of this project will be put upon following sectors: service outsourcing, education, light industry, IT, energy saving and environmental protection, biological technology, advanced equipment manufacture, new energy and materials, etc.
Centre Region, where the Zone locates, is one of the largest industrial regions in France. It locates in the South of Paris. As the center of France and core of European markets, this region is one of the most important distribution centers of France, featuring developed logistics system and traffic network. Centre Region ranks no.1 in several sectors of France: the largest medicine base, the largest perfume base and the largest industrial rubber base. In addition, it is also technologically advanced in various sectors such as aviation and cosmetics in France and Europe. There are over 200 public research institutions and labs in Centre Region, which ranks No. 2 in research fund obtained among all regions of France. Centre Region is always the cultural & educational center and tourism destination of France.
SFDEC project has already entered into the stage of investment attraction and promotional campaigns. Professional teams have been established both in China and France. One-stop service mechanism has been completed, providing various services including: law consultation, policy services, enterprise registration, custom declaration and inspection, comprehensive logistics, property management, etc. The in-zone enterprises will be supplied with sufficient information of French and European market policies; their development will be guaranteed by the policies of both China and France so that they can expand in French and European Markets as well as enhance the brand value of their product and core competitiveness of enterprise; enterprises will be helped to avoid trade protection so that the cost of exploration, time and maintenance in the early stage can be reduced, through which risks can be minimized, product’s stable and sustainable development in international market can be achieved.
Project 1: Keypark Chinese Enterprise Incubator in Europe. This project has already been in the stage of construction and investment attraction. As the only project for both commercial and residential use in the early stage of the zone, it will become the core project and one of the most profitable projects in SFDEC and the city of Chateauroux. The incubator base will include 86 independent buildings, all together forming the shape of Chinese Dragon Totem, highlighting Chinese culture. The buildings will adopt new technology of ecological integrated building and apply the technologies of photovoltaic, photothermal and smart home, combining with advanced energy saving and emission reducing technology. The design of buildings will be jointly undertaken by Chinese and French enterprise, featuring the combination of Sino-French construction and development concepts. The project will mainly focus on the outgoing Chinese enterprises; meanwhile, it will also attract some local French and Chinese enterprises. Based u
pon this project, a series of solutions will be provided to enterprises, as a result of which commercial development and communications between Chinese and French enterprises will be fully promoted. When completed, the project will become one of the top places for business, leisure, vacation and tourism in Chateauroux and SFDEC, featuring splendid scenery, sufficient facilities and functions.
Project 2: University of Sino-French Cooperation. This project has also entered into the phase of cooperative development, with joint efforts of Tsinghua University and famous university of France. The project will be constructed upon the former military camp 517, with total land area of 80 ha. It will be a globally-advanced university, as well as an international training center. It will import internationally-advanced education resources and implement optimized combination of sino-western education and bilingual teaching systems, so that Chinese education could be integrated with the world; Sino-French cooperation in quality education and further education can be promoted. The academic and training qualification are recognized by both China and France. The students will mainly be the Chinese students studying in France; in addition, services can also be provided to the students of France and EU who wish to study in China. As a new way of Sino-French joint education, this project will meet the needs of both
Chinese and French students for oversea studying and achieve further communication between Chinese and French universities, through which both countries’ university competitiveness can be enhanced; meanwhile, it will also become a rich talent pool for the development of SFDEC. When the students graduate, they can directly go to work. With double diploma and fluent foreign language, they can be more competitive in employment.
In addition, as a large-scale ecological zone established in Europe by Chinese enterprises, SFDEC will be an overall cooperation covering all aspects, integrating features of Chinese and French enterprises. Recent plans for project establishment and investment attraction include: construction of a large shopping mall, project of biomass power generation and BIPV, Rose Park, development of a tourism line in Centre Region, etc. A number of Chinese enterprises have already visited the Zone and made field investigation. SFDEC expects more enterprises to join in the establishment of the first economy cooperation zone in the developed country, creating new times of Chinese enterprises “going global”.