Far from Shanghai’s skyscrapers and Shenzhen’s tech hype, the southwestern province of Sichuan has become a strategic springboard for French exports, logistics and investment — and the figures for 2025 show just how quickly the relationship is deepening.
French exports soar 32.7% in Sichuan
Between January and October 2025, French exports to Sichuan reached 3.51 billion yuan, or around €432 million at current exchange rates.
That represents year-on-year growth of 32.7%, a sharp acceleration that turns Sichuan into one of the fastest-growing Chinese destinations for French goods.
This upswing does not come from a single blockbuster contract.
Instead, it reflects years of patient business-building in aviation, food, cosmetics, digital entertainment and industrial gases.
French companies no longer treat Sichuan as a peripheral market: it now sits at the crossroads of their Asian strategies.
Sichuan: from “rural backwater” to industrial powerhouse
Sichuan covers about 485,000 square kilometres, nearly the size of Spain, and counts more than 83 million inhabitants.
Its capital, Chengdu, forms a metropolitan area of around 20 million people and ranks among the key urban hubs of western China.
For decades, the province carried the image of an isolated agricultural region.
➡️ Zoo staff overjoyed as a critically endangered Amur leopard cub takes its first steps on camera
➡️ Toilet debate settled: should the seat stay up or down and what hygiene experts actually recommend
➡️ “I left plant roots in the ground after harvest” and my soil structure improved naturally
➡️ Crêpes Without Butter, Milk Or Eggs: The Replacement Ingredients Table To Keep In Your Kitchen (Especially For Candlemas)
➡️ Walking with your hands behind your back isn’t random “psychology reveals the hidden meaning” and why leaders often adopt it unconsciously
➡️ Why this simple daily habit for people over 65 is being hailed as a digestion savior by some and dismissed as dangerous nonsense by others
➡️ A small gesture that changes everything : why tennis balls in your garden can save birds and hedgehogs this winter
➡️ Once the star of the battlefield, the tank is now America’s biggest weakness – but a €100 million tech upgrade could change that
That label no longer fits.
Today, Sichuan hosts major clusters in:
- aeronautics and aerospace
- electronics and semiconductors
- automotive and new energy vehicles
- chemicals and advanced materials
- agri-food and nutrition
Hydropower dams on the province’s rivers supply electricity to tens of millions of households and factories, reinforcing its role as an energy base for the country.
Geographically, Sichuan sits at a strategic junction between China’s coast, Tibet, Yunnan and the overland corridors that point toward Central Asia and Europe.
Its economic weight now exceeds €700 billion in GDP, comparable to some of Europe’s largest national economies.
The rail lifeline that shrinks Eurasia
The China-Europe Railway Express changes the game
One reason French exports are rising so quickly lies in the rail tracks that link Chengdu to Europe.
The China-Europe Railway Express, a dense network of freight services, has turned Sichuan into a major inland logistics node.
Trains loaded in Lyon or other European hubs cross Eurasia and arrive directly in Chengdu, cutting transit times dramatically.
Rail journeys between Chengdu and Poland now take roughly 15 to 18 days, versus 40 to 50 days by sea.
For many manufacturers and distributors on both ends, that time saving justifies slightly higher freight costs compared with maritime shipping.
It allows faster restocking, more flexible supply chains and lower inventory levels.
French cosmetics illustrate the trend: exports of beauty products alone already exceed €75 million over the period, capitalising on Chinese consumers’ appetite for French brands and the reliability of rail delivery.
What moves best by train?
Not all goods benefit equally from rail transport.
| Type of product | Rail advantage | Typical French exports |
|---|---|---|
| High-value light goods | Fast transit, lower cost than air | Cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, luxury items |
| Industrial components | Predictable schedules, just-in-time flows | Aeronautical parts, automotive components |
| Perishables with medium shelf life | Quicker than sea, controlled conditions | Specialty foods, some dairy products |
This mix suits France well, as many of its export strengths lie in branded consumer goods and high-tech equipment rather than low-value bulk commodities.
Airbus in Chengdu: giving aircraft a second life
In Chengdu, Airbus operates the Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre, dedicated not to building new aircraft but to salvaging and recycling those at the end of their flying careers.
Technicians there dismantle airframes, recover valuable metals and recondition components that can safely re-enter service.
Each aircraft represents dozens of tonnes of recoverable materials and complex systems that require high-level engineering expertise to handle.
The facility positions France as a reference in sustainable aviation while helping China upgrade its own aerospace ecosystem.
For Airbus and its French partners, the centre offers proximity to one of the world’s largest fleets and sends a signal that circular economy principles now reach deep into heavy industry.
For local players, it provides training, technology and a window into European standards in safety and certification.
Invisible infrastructure: Air Liquide’s gases keep factories running
In Sichuan and neighbouring Chongqing, French group Air Liquide runs gas production and distribution facilities that few consumers ever see.
The company supplies oxygen, nitrogen and ultra-pure hydrogen to makers of electronics, chemicals and advanced materials.
These gases play a quiet but critical role.
No clean room for semiconductor production works without carefully controlled atmospheres.
No modern steel or glass manufacturing line runs efficiently without oxygen and other industrial gases.
The presence of Air Liquide in southwestern China signals a move up the value chain: the region no longer hosts only assembly plants, but increasingly complex, technology-intensive operations.
Danone: producing where people eat
In Qionglai, near Chengdu, Danone operates a production and logistics base that serves much of southwest China.
The site covers the full chain from processing to distribution, tailored both to Chinese food safety rules and to local tastes.
Dairy products, specialised nutrition and value-added foods all benefit from the expansion of China’s middle classes, including in inland provinces that used to be considered “second tier”.
Danone’s strategy here avoids the classic trap of shipping everything from Europe.
By manufacturing closer to consumers, the company cuts transport distances, adapts recipes more easily and works with regional suppliers.
That local footprint also cushions the impact of currency swings and trade tensions, since a larger share of costs is denominated in yuan.
Finance and creativity: Groupama and Ubisoft in Chengdu
Insurance as a real-time economic barometer
Groupama’s joint venture, Groupama SDIG Property Insurance, is headquartered in Chengdu and operates 263 agencies across 12 Chinese provinces.
The business has delivered five consecutive years of profitable growth, which hints at broader trends.
When firms buy more insurance, they tend to build new sites, purchase equipment and take on more risk — all signs of economic expansion.
Households that start insuring property and vehicles also signal rising incomes and asset ownership.
For a foreign insurer, success in China hinges on decoding local regulations, diverse climatic and industrial risks, and consumer behaviour that differs sharply from Europe.
Chengdu functions as a command centre for this wider network, giving Groupama a vantage point on inland markets that foreign groups once largely ignored.
Ubisoft: games as a cultural bridge
Ubisoft’s Chengdu studio goes far beyond support work.
Teams there contribute to major global franchises, crafting game environments, gameplay systems and sometimes entire narrative arcs.
Many Western players roam virtual worlds built in Sichuan without realising it.
For Ubisoft, the city offers a pool of engineers, artists and designers trained in local universities, backed by a vibrant gaming culture and a huge domestic market.
For Chengdu’s talent, collaboration with French and international teams provides access to global audiences and industry standards.
A partnership that stretches beyond trade figures
French-Sichuan cooperation now spans aviation, automotive, environmental technologies, education and digital culture.
Local authorities in Sichuan publicly call for even deeper ties with France, seeing an opportunity to attract technology, brands and industrial know-how.
France, for its part, gains access to a large, fast-growing region with strong infrastructure and the political backing that often determines business success in China.
Each side brings something distinct: France contributes innovation and established brands, Sichuan offers scale, growth and adaptation speed.
The relationship looks less like a simple export push and more like gradual integration of value chains, research and skills.
Risks, scenarios and what could change the trajectory
This upbeat picture comes with uncertainties.
Escalating trade frictions between China and Western economies could hit sensitive sectors such as aerospace or high-tech equipment.
Regulatory changes in data, finance or environmental standards might challenge some of the current business models.
Currency volatility also matters: a weaker yuan can erode the euro value of local revenues, even if sales volumes hold up.
Consider two simplified scenarios for the next five years:
- Stable cooperation: political relations remain manageable, rail links expand, and French exports to Sichuan keep rising at high single-digit to low double-digit rates, with more production moved onshore.
- Fragmentation: export controls tighten on sensitive technologies, local competitors gain ground, and growth shifts from trade in goods toward services, joint R&D and more localised operations.
Companies already established in Sichuan tend to hedge their bets by partnering with local firms, training Chinese managers and anchoring more value creation inside the province.
Key concepts behind the boom
Several economic notions help make sense of what is happening between France and Sichuan.
Value chain localisation:
Originally posted 2026-02-15 05:41:13.