French pavilion unveiled at Hainan consumption expo

The pavilion of France, the guest of honor country at the second China International Consumer Products Expo ( CICPE) in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, was unveiled on Tuesday as Paris, a strong proponent for trade liberalization, envisions tapping into the world's second- largest consumer market.

With nearly 250 brands exhibiting this year, France is the leading foreign country participating in the CICPE, French Ambassador to China Laurent Bili told a press conference at the France pavilion.

French exports of luxury products to China have doubled compared with 2019, comprising not just traditional luxury items but also perfumes, cosmetics, leather goods and jewelry, not to mention wines and spirits.

Regarding beauty products, China became the world's top market for French cosmetics exports in 2021.

France regained its rank as the leading supplier of wine in China and consolidated its strong lead in the spirits segment, Bili said.

In response to questions from the Global Times, the ambassador said that the current international situation is indeed somewhat complicated, but France would obviously opt for an opener stance when a choice is to be made between more trade protectionism and greater opening- up and liberalization.

France still has a trade deficit with China, while Chinese investment is among the top sources of investment in France, he said, hoping for Chinese consumers to ramp up purchases of French products for there to be a more balanced trade.

The exhibition area of French brands covers 2,988 square meters this year, involving 50 French businesses, Ni Qiang, vice- governor of Hainan Province, said at the briefing.

The exhibition space, the number of French businesses and brands all surpassed the inaugural expo last year, as French companies are upbeat about the development potential of the Hainan free trade port, Ni said.

“As China's first national exhibition focusing on high- end consumer products, the CICPE contributes to the dual circulation development strategy by enabling global high- quality brands to get access to China's huge consumption market,” Fabrice Megarbane, president of L'Oréal North Asia Zone and CEO of L'Oréal China, said on Tuesday in a speech at the L'Oréal booth opening ceremony.

Multiple major French businesses like fashion, spirits and beverages revealed plans to expand in the world's second- largest consumer market.

“We have plans to expand our retail network in China to 200 stores within three years from the current 80,” Mark Lu, president of Daniel Hechter Greater China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

In the case of upmarket French department store chain Galeries Lafayette, a second- time participant in the CICPE, its vision is to beef up its department store network in China to 10 locations by 2025, according to Lawrance Shum, CEO of Galeries Lafayette China.