Wuhan (China) (AFP)

The city of Wuhan, under the spotlight due to the epidemic of viral pneumonia, is an industrial megalopolis in the heart of China, with links to France.

The regional capital of 11 million inhabitants, where a new coronavirus appeared in December, has been cut off from the world since it was placed in quarantine on Thursday.

A communications node

Wuhan is at the crossroads of two major axes: the Yangtze, the longest river in Asia, which crosses it from west to east, and the north-south axis, Beijing-Hong Kong.

Capital of the province of Hubei, the city saw in 1957 the opening of the first bridge built on the Yangtze.

Sign of this strategic location, Wuhan is home to several consulates (France, United Kingdom, United States), and it is an important airport platform, with direct connections to Europe, the Middle East and the United States. United.

The cradle of the revolution

In October 1911, a mutiny in a city barracks gave the signal for the revolution which was to lead to the fall of the last emperor of China, the young Puyi, 3 years old.

The inhabitants of the province, nicknamed "Hubeilao", have kept a reputation for badass.

Wuhan is known for its extreme summer climate: it is, with Nanjing and Chongqing, one of the "three furnaces" of the Yangtze.

Steel and high-tech

With its central location, the city benefited in the Maoist era from the strategy of moving industries to the interior regions, considered to be better protected.

Today it is one of the centers of the steel industry, where 60% of the country's high-speed rail is designed.

Its factories attract a massive population of workers from other regions: they are around 5 million, according to the mayor.

Wuhan is also a pioneer in new technologies. In a ranking by the Milken Institute, Wuhan was in 2019 the 9th "best performing" Chinese city - with sectors ranging from microprocessors to biomedicine.

Some 160 Japanese firms from all sectors are present.

Renault and PSA base in China

Wuhan is also a major center of the automobile industry: it was there that Dongfeng ("East Wind"), the country's second largest manufacturer, was founded in 1969, and a partner of the Japanese Nissan and Honda as well as the French. PSA and Renault.

With more than ten car factories and some 500 OEMs, the sector weighs around 400 billion yuan (52.3 billion euros) annually, according to figures reported by the Changliang Daily.

The city would have produced 1.7 million vehicles in 2018.

PSA has three factories in Wuhan, with 2,000 employees. His rival Renault opened his first factory there in China in early 2016. In their wake, equipment manufacturers Faurecia and Valeo have set up there.

French tropism

In addition to the presence of Renault and PSA, there are close historical and cultural ties between Wuhan and France. Part of the city, under the name of Hankou, had hosted in the 19th century - under pressure from the Western powers - a French concession, the scene of a first industrialization.

Some 500 French nationals are registered on the consular list and, since 2000, the Alliance française has provided language courses and cultural activities there.

The University of Wuhan, renowned for its French department, cultivates cooperation with Parisian universities (since the 1980s), but also with Lyon or Lille, as well as, since March 2019, with the prestigious Ecole des Chartes.

© 2020 AFP