From February 13 to 14, Bertrand Lortholary, Ambassador of France to China, Joan Valadou, Consul General of France in Shanghai, along with their entourage, visited Jiangsu Province Julie Zhang, President of Arkema Greater China, was invited to accompany the delegation as the representative of French companies. They had courtesy meetings with governmental leaders from Jiangsu Province, including XU Kunlin, Deputy Secretary of Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Governor of Jiangsu Province, CHEN Zhichang, Deputy Secretary of Nanjing Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Nanjing, and WU Qingwen, Deputy Secretary of Suzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Suzhou. During the meetings, all parties exchanged views on Sino-French economic and trade cooperation, green and low-carbon development, and scientific and technological innovation. They expressed hopes to achieve more landmark results, realize higher levels of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and contribute more to the development of relations between the two countries.
Arkema's investment in Jiangsu has become an important pillar of its business in China, thanks to the strong initiatives of the Jiangsu provincial government in optimizing the business environment. Since 1998, Arkema has invested a total of 600 million euros in the Changshu Industrial Site, one of Arkema's largest platforms worldwide. In addition, Arkema's largest R&D center in Asia, Changshu R&D Center, is located in Jiangsu Province, along with production plants in Taixing and Zhangjiagang.
Over the past few decades, Arkema has been recognized by the local authorities for contributing to the high-quality development of the local economy and for promoting synergies between companies in the region through its good practices in the field of Responsible Care.
The year 2025 will mark the beginning of a new era in the 60-year history of Sino-French relations. As an active promoter of Sino-French industrial cooperation, Arkema will continue to increase its presence in China at this important moment, and tighten the ties of cooperation between China and France in the fields of specialty materials and sustainable innovation to build a greener future.