French brands flock to consumption expo

▶ Firms see new opportunities in wine, luxury products amid upgrading

The French pavilion, the exhibition hall for French companies and products, officially opened on Sunday at the 4th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), Asia’s largest premium consumer products expo, in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, with French businesses flocking to the event to tap into the potential of the booming Chinese market.

Companies in various sectors such as wine and luxury products that are iconic to the

French economy are presenting their latest fashions at the expo, a move that experts described as a reflection of the continuous strong confidence in the Chinese market and economy, despite the claims by some European politicians who are calling for “decoupling” from China.

The platform also mirrors China’s ongoing opening-up and welcoming stance to foreign businesses to the Chinese market with their competitive products and services, contrary to the EU’s protectionism against Chinese companies, experts added.

French luxury fashion brand Cerruti 1881 is participating in the CICPE for the first time as part of the French pavilion.

“The Chinese market is one of the main luxury and fashion markets with consumers looking for quality, elegance and creativity,” Aude Pecheux, chief marketing officer of Cerruti 1881, told the Global Times.

Following the CICPE, Cerruti plans to open stores in China next year.

Fatima Nouissel, a French wine trader based in South China’s Guangdong Province, is attending the CICPE for a third year and bringing 20 alcohol brands, looking at the consumption potential of the Chinese market.

Cooperative activities between China and France have intensified in recent years. From 2019 to 2023, French luxury brands’ exports to China jumped by more than 100 percent, the Global Times learned from Business France.

French companies are eager to embrace the huge Chinese market of 1.4 billion people. Meanwhile, as the Chinese economy is undergoing a transformation toward high-quality development, highlighted by digital and green development, new opportunities are emerging for foreign companies, Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

Wang said that China’s launch of various large expos, including the CICPE, showcases the nation’s opening-up and welcoming stance toward foreign companies, including those from France and other European countries, to the Chinese market, which is contrary to the West’s “decoupling” attempts toward Chinese companies, including those in the new-energy industry.