French company drives new materials industry as factories integrate with China's supply chains

A France-headquartered Global Fortune 500 company is leveraging its technical advantages to enhance the new materials industry chain in Dengfeng City, central China's Henan Province, and has expressed optimism about future development due to the city's favorable business environment.

19 years ago, Saint-Gobain, a manufacturer of a wide variety of building materials, established its first factory in Dengfeng, capitalizing on the region's transportation advantages, abundant mineral resources, and numerous upstream industrial enterprises. Today, the factory in Dengfeng is expanding by laying out new facilities and building additional production lines, achieving a total output value of 470 million yuan (approximately 66 million U.S. dollars) last year.

"We have three (factories) in Henan Province, and as always, when we come and when we invest in provinces in China, we feel a strong support from the local authorities and from the government," said Anthony Lopez, Asia-Pacific Communication Director of Saint-Gobain.

Lopez explained that the decision to establish a factory in Dengfeng was influenced by the presence of numerous car manufacturers and electric vehicle manufacturers, which are their primary clients.

"You (Henan) have a lot of car manufacturers and EV car manufacturers, so Saint-Gobain has different companies supplying those EV car-makers. So it's very important for us that we are also close to them when we established a manufacturing site," said Lopez.

Saint-Gobain produces highly wear-resistant abrasive grains from a material called corundum, which is primarily composed of alumina sourced from the local aluminum processing industry in Dengfeng.

The company's continued presence has helped to drive the local new materials industry chain in the city. In 2023, the output value of the new materials industry in Dengfeng exceeded 3 billion yuan (about 421.9 million U.S. dollars).

"Saint-Gobain is very strong on renovation and this is a very important part to become carbon neutral. If China wants to become carbon neutral, they need to renovate the houses and the building to make them more sustainable and for this we offer high performance solutions. So the future of Saint-Gobain in China, I believe, is very bright," Lopez said.

French company drives new materials industry as factories integrate with China's supply chains

China is willing to strengthen communication, enhance trust, eliminate interference, and deepen cooperation with Canada to bring bilateral relations forward on a steady and sound track in solid strides under the new circumstances, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Beijing on the day.

Referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China, the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years, Wang said the trip marks a milestone in bilateral ties and signals a turning point in the relationship.

The leaders of the two countries will hold meetings and talks, which are expected to open up new prospects for bilateral relations, said Wang.

The world today is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the impact of China-Canada relations transcends the bilateral scope, Wang noted.

Wang said that China and Canada have different social systems, stemming from different historical and cultural heritage, and based on the choices of their respective people.

He urged both sides to view each other in a rational and amicable manner with an inclusive mindset, handle issues on the basis of mutual respect, focus on the agenda of cooperation, and send positive messages so as to foster optimism, inject greater confidence into the development of bilateral relations, and jointly build a new type of strategic partnership between China and Canada.

Anand said the new Canadian government attaches great importance to relations with China. She also added that Prime Minister Carney looks forward to engaging in in-depth exchanges with Chinese leaders during the visit to set the course for the development of bilateral relations, resume dialogue in various fields, pursue more mutually beneficial outcomes, enhance coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs, and further advance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

China ready to work for steady, sound ties with Canada: FM