Translated from WeChat Official Account of the Consulate General of France in Wuhan
From April 27 to 28, the delegation of Association des Elus de France visited Wuhan at the invitation of the Hubei Provincial Department of Commerce to explore economic and trade cooperation opportunities. The delegation included Mr. Driss ETTAZAOUI, President of the Association and Vice President of the Port Community of Évreux-Normandie; Ms. Siham LABICH, Deputy Mayor of Saint-Étienne and Vice President of the Greater Saint-Étienne Metropolitan Area; Mr. Cédric PEMBA-MARINE, Mayor of Port-Marly, Vice President of the Seine-Saint-Germain District, and Yvelines Department Councillor; Mr. Mohamed Lamine NAHAM, Mayor of Trélazé; and Mr. Michaël DAMIATI, Mayor of Cronenbourg. Mr. Montain, Consul General of France in Wuhan, accompanied the delegation.
On April 27, the delegation met with Mr. Zhang Wentong, Vice Governor of Hubei Province. Mr. Zhang introduced the favorable investment environment of Hubei to the delegation. Both parties discussed the broad prospects for future economic and trade cooperation between France and Hubei. Consul General Montain particularly emphasized the hope to work together with the Chinese side to strengthen support for French companies in the Sino-French Wuhan Ecological Demonstration City.
Meeting with Vice Governor Zhang Wentong of Hubei Province
On April 28, the delegation visited the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone (China Auto Valley). Hosted by Mr. Xue Aiqiang, Deputy Director of the Management Committee, they toured the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (Wuhan) Test Demonstration Zone and experienced autonomous driving. Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone was established in 1991 to house the Sino-French joint venture Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën project. After over 30 years of development, it has become a key hub of Wuhan's industrial economy and one of China’s major automotive industry clusters, home to 9 vehicle manufacturers, 13 vehicle plants, and over 1,000 parts suppliers. Delegation members highly praised the zone’s large-scale vehicle manufacturing capacity and smart vehicle-network system, and discussed potential areas for future cooperation.
