Baptiste Morin 06h16, April 07, 2023

It's Theme Friday: the New Chinese Imperialism. And it is also, and above all, an economic matter. Over 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 unstrategic.

Emmanuel Macron is currently on a diplomatic trip to China to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping and take the time to discuss the valuable ties between France and China. Between 2000 and 2018, China invested more than €14 billion in France. The result was successes such as the takeover of the Club Med group, but also failures such as the Bordeaux vineyards, partly resold, or Toulouse airport, acquired and then hastily resold. The Covid-19 epidemic has had a strong impact on these investments

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Beijing focuses on technology and infrastructure

"The Chinese work a lot in relationships, in contact, in trust," explains Philippe Le Corre, a professor and researcher at ESSEC and a specialist in China. When you can't meet people, in business, it becomes complicated."

After the health crisis, the Chinese Communist Party put a stop to investments in sectors deemed not very strategic. Now, 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.