“Europeans have lost their naivety vis-à-vis China”, according to Jean-François Dufour, co-founder of Sinopole

The French president is traveling, from Wednesday April 5, with around fifty French bosses in China. Among the business leaders present, we will find the leaders of Veolia, EDF and Airbus. “We are not going back to business quite like before the Covid, note on the eve of this visit Jean-François Dufour, co-founder of Sinopole, a resource center on China, which advises French companies on the spot. The world has seen upheaval since Emmanuel Macron’s last visit. The first is of a geostrategic nature with a war at the gates of the European Union over which China can influence. And the second, more of a geo-economic nature, with a long trend, which is the confrontation between the United States and China on the question of technologies.

“One of the big questions of Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China is what is Europe’s position in the evolution of this relationship.”

Jean-François Dufour, co-founder of Sinopole

at franceinfo

The surface area needed to take the financial risk

Today only large companies take the risk: “The advantage of large companies is to have the necessary surface area to take the financial risk. And these are the ones for which political support is most effective. It is obvious that the big bosses who accompany Emmanuel Macron appear under the protection of the French state”explains Jean-François Dufour.

It may seem paradoxical, but according to Jean-François Dufour, the framework in which French companies operate in China has become more flexible. “In the automotive industry, joint ventures are no longer mandatory since this year. But whether economically or politically, we are witnessing the end of naivety on the European side,” according to Jean-Francois Dufour.

Watch the full interview: