One of the main missions of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (CCIFC) is to develop the presence of French SMEs in this country and help them better understand the Chinese market.

Florence Gomez, general manager of CCIFC, said that her organization has drafted a three-year action plan which core components are to match the French offer with the Chinese needs and spread information on how French companies can invest in or procure from China, and what factors they should pay attention to when doing business in the world's fastest growing major economy.

"We have done a lot in providing information about the Chinese market and helping French companies do business here, but one area that we do not do well enough is grasping the needs of Chinese economy, as it is usually very difficult to get accurate information," said Gomez.

"We are happy to have the financial support from the network of French Chambers of Commerce in France, which regards China as a prime opportunity in French companies' overseas expansion."

She said starting in January 2007, CCIFC will visit French companies and local governments in a certain number of Chinese provinces such as Hubei, Sichuan, Shandong, or Liaoning, where many French companies have established operations.

They will try to understand the progress and difficulties of French firms there, talk with government officials about how French companies can establish their businesses, and also see what the local needs are.

CCIFC will also develop its services to French Companies and is planning to organize specific missions on how to set up shops in Beijing, Shanghai, or other cities, and focus on sectorial missions.

They will also issue by the end of this year a publication on recruiting people in China, including salary levels and unique strengths in talent pools in different cities, another key area that SMEs are concerned with when investing in a foreign country.

As China and France are in their honeymoon of economic and trade relations, the focus of French companies' development in China has shifted to small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to Gomez, at present 75 per cent of her 980 member companies in China are small and medium-sized. Most of these firms are quite successful and a special prize for the best performing French SME in China will be remitted for the first time this year during the annual gala dinner of the CCIFC on October 28, by the French minister of Foreign trade Christine Lagarde.

In the past five years, the activity of French firms in China has increased significantly, as CCIFC members almost doubled, and more importantly, smaller firms are adding more and more vitality to France-China economic co-operation.

Last year alone, CCIFC helped 250 such companies come to China, therefore helping to reach the target set by the French President Jacques Chirac, to help 1000 new French SMEs doing business in China in 2005 and the following years.

"When I visited firms in different cities in France several years ago, many of them thought that China was 'another planet' and that cultural differences and obvious language barriers were quite dissuasive," said Gomez.

"But now with increasing coverage of China by the French media, quite abundant during the cultural crossed years, these companies have a better comprehension of China," said Gomez.

To help French SMEs understand how to do business in China, CCIFC created a CAP China club in 2003, which is formed of 60 French Chambers of Commerce and Industry based in France among which the biggest ones such as Paris, Lyon, Marseille.

The CAP China club meets four times a year and CCIFC briefs its members on recent developments in China in such areas as HR, new regulations, logistics, distribution, specific sectors of activity, and other particular projects. The club members then pass the information to their member companies in France.

The CCIFC also provides an office leasing service to those SMEs, which can work next door to the organization and receive help. Till now, CCIFC's three offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou offer 60 office sites to such firms, rising from 21 last year.

(China Daily 10/25/2006 page18)