Special report - China: now heading west

Wuhan: the ambitions of a Francophile

On 12 April, Air France inaugurated a direct service between Paris and Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. A European first and a good reason to go and meet this unknown city... which won't remain so for long.
By The Editor -

Knowing that Wuhan pronounced Wouran will soon be no more than a question of general knowledge. And with good reason: the capital of Hubei - one of China's richest provinces - is fast becoming a first-class business city. Admittedly, when you stroll along the banks of the Yangtze, you're most likely to see kite sellers and children perched on strange dragon-shaped mounts. At first glance, businessmen may seem almost absent from this portrait, but appearances are deceiving. In 2010, the conurbation of 9 million inhabitants, located a thousand kilometres from Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, generated some 550 billion yuan (RMB), or 66 billion euros, from its economic activity... with growth of around 15 %.

Wuhan owes its fabulous prosperity first and foremost to its industrial past, which dates back to the 19th century, when the first Westerners came to trade here from Shanghai. The French, in particular, loved it here and stayed. A whole district, that of the French Concession, now rehabilitated and dotted with chic signs and fashionable restaurants, has kept its traces.

While the Maoist years took their toll on Franco-Wuhanese links, the city is now reliving the great leap forward... in a French version. The figures are convincing: a thousand French nationals are already registered here and France has become the leading foreign investor in the city, injecting nearly two billion euros in 2008, representing 60 % of European investment and 13 % of foreign investment. "There is a tradition here of Francophilia, even Francophonie".says Qin Huang, deputy consul in charge of economic issues.

And with good reason: in 1998, France was the first Western country to open a consulate general in Wuhan, followed ten years later by the United States and South Korea. "Franco-Wuhanese relations were first forged through university cooperation, which began more than 30 years ago".continues the deputy consul. It has to be said that the capital of Hubei is a real city of thinkers. China's third-largest university centre, it was the birthplace of one of the country's very first universities.

Franco-Chinese relations

However, other factors have contributed to trade between France and the city on the banks of the Yangtze. In the 1990s, when the country's economy opened up, foreign investors were encouraged to set up car production plants in China. So, drawing on its Wuhan past and aware of the central role played by the steel industry in the capital of Hubei, France once again turned its attention to Wuhan.
The PSA group set up its factories here in 1992, but what has happened twenty years on? "With 11,000 employees and 400,000 cars produced in 2011, Peugeot-Citroën is now part of Wuhan's economic landscape".says Li Yulong, export division manager at PSA-Dongfeng. But if we consider that the Chinese car market is the world's biggest, producing more than 10 million cars a year, there is still plenty of room for improvement for the French group. "We currently only have a 3.6 % market share, so we need to capitalise on our image of European quality and value for money to drive our growth.concludes Li Yunlong.
While the secondary sector is the fastest-growing and most profitable in Wuhan, the tertiary sector already accounts for half of the city's GDP. Finance, in particular, has the wind in its sails, with strong potential for expansion and growth rates in excess of 10 %. High technology is growing at almost the same rate. The municipality of Wuhan has set up three national development zones, including the East Lake High Tech Development Park, dedicated to optoelectronics, information technology and telecommunications. In all, the city has 350 research institutes, 1,500 high-tech companies and numerous business incubators.
The real downside of this accelerated growth is pollution, which is becoming a real concern. "Local government is obliged to make great efforts to put the issue of sustainable development at the forefront".adds the deputy consul. Measures to be taken include quality control of private and public vehicles, the development of green energy, eco-friendly neighbourhoods and non-polluting factories.
Fortunately, one of the biggest sources of pollution remains temporary. It's the 5,000 construction sites currently underway, of which the city is very proud. Here and there, bridges, roads, metro lines, housing, offices, public buildings and even new districts are springing up, such as Han Street, soon to become the 'cultural district', with a new opera house, shopping centres and a giant cinema complex.
Fortunately, almost all of these polluting projects will result in green buildings. In 2007, Wuhan was declared a pilot city for energy conservation by the National Reform and Development Commission. Since then, investment has reached nearly 350 billion yuan (42 billion euros), with the ultimate goal of developing an almost entirely green consumption and transport model by 2015. Once again, the French are present on this front. Among the emblematic buildings, the "House of the Wuhanese", both an administrative centre and a museum due to open in 2012, is a project by the architecture firm Arte Charpentier.

"River in the sky

Wuhan has yet another ambition: to become a hub for road, river, rail and even air transport. In 2015, Tianhe - the "River of Heaven" - is set to become the country's fourth international airport, with the addition of a third terminal capable of handling up to 38 million passengers a year. The arrival of the very first direct service between Wuhan and Europe with Air France is the cornerstone of this development. "The capital of Hubei is a major communications hub, explains Marnix Fruitema, Executive Vice President Asia Pacific at Air France and KLM. It is located at a crossroads in central China, in one of the most dynamic provinces." A pioneer in transport between China and Europe, the French company was the first in the West to inaugurate a link with the People's Republic of China, in 1966, with Paris-Shanghai. In 2012, Paris-Wuhan is another first. "A large number of foreign companies, over 80 of which are French, have already set up operations in Wuhan, continues Marnix Fruitema, with strong development forecasts, but also frequent university exchanges with Europe". Wuhan is still the talk of the town.

Special report - China: now heading west

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