Baptist Morin
modified to
11:11 a.m., April 07, 2023
It’s thematic Friday: the new Chinese imperialism. And it is also and above all an economic affair. For the past 20 years, China has targeted interests in France, but the health crisis has changed that. The Chinese Communist Party has put a stop to investments in sectors deemed not to be strategic.
Emmanuel Macron is currently on a diplomatic trip to China to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping and take the time to discuss the precious ties between France and China. Between 2000 and 2018, China invested more than 14 billion euros in France. The result is successes such as the takeover of the Club Med group, but also failures such as the vineyards of Bordeaux, partly resold, or Toulouse airport, acquired and then resold in haste. The Covid-19 epidemic had a strong impact on these investments
Beijing focuses on technology and infrastructure
“The Chinese work a lot in relationships, in contact, in trust, explains Philippe Le Corre, professor-researcher at ESSEC and specialist in China. When you cannot meet people, in the context of business, it gets complicated.”
After the health crisis, the Chinese Communist Party put a stop to investments in sectors deemed not to be strategic. From now on, two main areas are of interest to Beijing abroad: technology and infrastructure. In October, for example, China invested in the port of Hamburg. For the rest, China now seems to face the mistrust of Europeans.