Behind the mountains and megacities of Sichuan, French exports are accelerating at an unexpected pace, reshaping trade links between Paris and Beijing and turning this once-agrarian region into a key test bed for European business ambitions in China.
French exports to Sichuan surge by nearly a third
Between January and October 2025, French exports to Sichuan province reached 3.51 billion yuan, roughly €432 million at current exchange rates.
Exports from France to Sichuan jumped by 32.7% year-on-year over the first ten months of 2025, signalling a sharp deepening of economic ties.
This increase stands out in a global context marked by tensions over supply chains, sluggish European growth and uncertainty around Chinese demand.
Instead of pulling back, French firms are doubling down on one of China’s biggest inland markets, betting that local consumption and industrial upgrading will offset geopolitical noise.
The jump in exports does not come from a single blockbuster contract, but from several sectors moving in sync: cosmetics, agri-food, industrial gases, aviation services, insurance and digital entertainment.
Sichuan: from rural backwater to industrial powerhouse
Sichuan covers around 485,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of Spain, and counts more than 83 million inhabitants.
Its capital, Chengdu, has grown into a 20-million-strong metropolis and a major hub for western China, positioning itself as a rival to coastal giants such as Shanghai or Shenzhen.
Long seen as a predominantly agricultural and relatively isolated region, Sichuan now houses a dense mix of factories, research centres and tech clusters.
Key industries include aerospace, electronics, automotive, chemicals and agri-food, backed by universities and laboratories that feed a steady flow of engineers and technicians.
The province also plays a major energy role thanks to large hydroelectric dams that feed millions of households and industries across China.
Its GDP now exceeds the equivalent of €700 billion, comparable to a large European economy, which gives an idea of the size of the local market French firms are targeting.
Rail links tighten trade between France and western China
The China-Europe Railway Express advantage
One of the most visible levers behind the export boom sits on steel tracks.
French goods now reach Chengdu by rail via the China-Europe Railway Express, a network of freight lines that forms part of Beijing’s Belt and Road strategy.
Trains leaving Lyon and other European hubs cross Eurasia in around 15 to 18 days, delivering containers straight into inland logistics parks around Chengdu.
Rail cuts transit times to Sichuan by roughly half compared with sea routes, which typically take 40 to 50 days.
This time gain gives exporters more flexibility, particularly for goods with high added value or shorter shelf lives.
French cosmetics provide a telling example: exports of beauty products to Sichuan already exceed €75 million over the period, riding on China’s appetite for premium brands and the need for fast, reliable replenishment of local inventories.
- Sea freight: cheaper but slower, 40–50 days via coastal ports
- Rail freight: more expensive per container but 15–18 days to western China
- Air freight: fastest option yet significantly costlier, reserved for niche or urgent flows
Key French players anchoring themselves in Sichuan
Airbus and the new business of aircraft “second life”
In Chengdu, Airbus has chosen a very specific niche: end-of-life aircraft.
Its Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre does not assemble new planes; instead it maintains, dismantles and recycles aircraft coming to the end of their commercial careers.
Technicians strip down each airframe, recover high-value components, inspect parts that can be recertified, and send tonnes of metals and materials into specialized recycling channels.
Each aircraft processed turns into a stock of valuable parts and raw materials, along with a bundle of highly technical know-how.
For Airbus and French industry more broadly, this site acts as a showroom for advanced maintenance and recycling capabilities.
For China, it brings skills that help local aerospace players move up the value chain, beyond basic assembly work.
Air Liquide: unseen infrastructure for high-tech factories
French industrial gases group Air Liquide also has a growing presence in Sichuan and neighbouring Chongqing.
Its installations supply oxygen, nitrogen and ultra-pure hydrogen to manufacturers in electronics, chemicals and advanced materials.
These pipelines and storage units rarely make headlines, yet they underpin some of the region’s most sophisticated industries.
No microchips without controlled atmospheres.
No advanced metallurgy without high-grade oxygen.
No modern display or battery plants without carefully calibrated gases.
Air Liquide’s role signals that Sichuan has moved far beyond basic assembly and now hosts high-tech manufacturing with stringent quality standards.
Danone: producing food locally for China’s rising middle class
In Qionglai, near Chengdu, Danone operates a production and logistics base serving much of southwest China.
The site handles everything from processing to storage and regional distribution, aligning recipes with Chinese tastes while meeting strict local health regulations.
Dairy products, specialised nutrition and higher-value food items benefit from rising incomes and a growing focus on quality and safety among urban consumers.
Rather than shipping all products from Europe, Danone invests directly on the ground, creating value with local employees, regional suppliers and a distribution network designed for vast internal distances.
Groupama: insurance as a barometer of growth
French insurer Groupama operates in Chengdu through Groupama SDIG Property Insurance, which runs 263 branches across 12 Chinese provinces.
The company has recorded five consecutive years of profit growth in China, a signal that both corporate and household demand for coverage is rising.
When companies multiply policies, they often do so because they are investing in new plants, equipment or logistics.
When households take out insurance, it usually reflects growing property ownership, consumer purchases and overall confidence.
For a French insurer, operating from Chengdu requires detailed knowledge of regional regulations, local risks and very different customer expectations compared with Europe.
Ubisoft: gaming as a cultural bridge
French video game publisher Ubisoft also maintains a major studio in Chengdu.
The site contributes to global franchises, designing environments, gameplay systems and parts of the storylines for titles sold worldwide.
Chinese developers work on narratives and aesthetics that will eventually reach millions of players in Europe and North America.
Many Western gamers roam through virtual worlds built in Chengdu without realising the origins of the content on their screens.
Chengdu’s pool of digital talent, art schools, and a lively creative scene make it a natural base for this kind of cross-border production.
Why Sichuan suits French companies right now
Beyond the coast: new centres of gravity inside China
French groups spent decades focusing on Beijing, Shanghai and coastal zones.
As labour costs rise in those regions and China seeks to rebalance growth inland, provinces like Sichuan offer a fresh mix of opportunity and cost advantages.
Chengdu brings together several elements that speak to foreign investors:
- a huge consumer base across southwest China
- improving logistics, thanks to rail links and highways
- large pools of graduates in engineering and design
- local authorities keen on international partnerships
French firms arrive with technology, brands and management methods, while Sichuan provides scale, land, workforce and proximity to emerging markets in Central and South Asia.
What a 32.7% export jump actually means
A growth rate close to one-third sounds impressive, but context matters.
At €432 million over ten months, the Sichuan market still represents a modest slice of France’s global exports.
Yet the trajectory suggests that inland China could absorb far greater volumes if conditions remain favourable.
To give a sense of scale, if French exports to Sichuan kept expanding by 30% annually for five years, they would roughly triple, approaching the €1.2–€1.3 billion mark, assuming stable exchange rates.
This type of scenario depends on several factors: steadier geopolitical relations, predictable regulations in China, and the ability of French groups to localise products while protecting their intellectual property.
Risks, rewards and what businesses should watch
For companies eyeing Sichuan or similar inland regions, the opportunity comes with clear trade-offs.
| Aspect | Potential benefit | Main risk |
|---|---|---|
| Market access | Large, growing middle class and industrial base | Policy shifts or sudden regulatory tightening |
| Logistics | Faster rail links and regional hubs like Chengdu | Dependence on complex cross-border freight corridors |
| Localisation | Lower costs and better adaptation to local demand | Technology transfer and IP leakage |
| Partnerships | Access to local networks and public support | Uneven bargaining power and contract enforcement |
Businesses that succeed in Sichuan tend to share a few traits: long-term commitment, willingness to train local teams, and a careful approach to joint ventures and data management.
For readers less familiar with trade jargon, “exports” here refer to goods and services produced in France (or by French-controlled entities elsewhere in Europe) and sold into Sichuan, even when final assembly or customisation happens in China.
The Sichuan case shows how foreign trade is no longer just about containers moving between ports, but about intricate value chains stretching across continents, mixing local production with imported expertise and components.
