(Yicai) Nov. 17 -- China is a global source for innovation, presenting new business opportunities to overseas companies that are deeply engaged in the Chinese market, according to insiders at French manufacturing companies in China.

"China has become a global source of innovation and an engine for sustainable growth," Ludovic Weber, president of Saint-Gobain Asia-Pacific, told Yicai. "Shanghai is Saint-Gobain's Asia-Pacific headquarters and one of our company's key global research and development bases."

Saint-Gobain is a French sustainable construction firm. Its high-performance materials and solutions are widely used in emerging industries, such as robotics, semiconductors, and energy storage.

"These products have high technical barriers, and market demand for them is growing rapidly," Weber said, adding that the company has collaborated with Chinese partners to develop humanoid robots and has seen significant growth opportunities in this field.

In the past two years, Chinese companies have significantly upgraded their product exports and developed the capability to export entire factories, providing comprehensive services that encompass design, manufacturing, transportation, equipment installation, and operational debugging, Paul Sheng, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain China, told Yicai.

"These export projects are of substantial scale, with individual orders reaching as high as hundreds of millions of Chinese yuan," Sheng noted. "They involve full integration, from embedding technical standards to equipment manufacturing."

Even though this trend has just emerged, it is developing rapidly, Sheng pointed out. "These projects not only enhance the international competitiveness of the Chinese equipment manufacturing industry but also bring new growth opportunities for overseas suppliers like Saint-Gobain."

Saint-Gobain's products and technology systems have already entered markets in Southeast Asia and Europe, along with China's complete production lines, he added.

The rapid development of China's digitalization has provided fertile ground for innovation for French manufacturing companies.

For example, French industrial software giant Dassault Systèmes, in collaboration with Chinese hardware, software, and material solutions provider Zhongda Digital Technology, launched China's first industrial-grade software platform tailored for the manufacturing construction industry.

China's infrastructure is entering a new phase of development driven by data, efficient collaboration, and green and low-carbon practices, Samson Khaou, global executive vice president of Dassault Systèmes and president of its Asia-Pacific branch, told Yicai. This transformation presents new opportunities for the company's growth in China, he added.

Dassault Systèmes' software platform integrates capabilities, such as digital twins, simulation analysis, data collaboration, and industrial artificial intelligence, Khaou noted, adding that it has already been applied to the design of buildings in China, including smart hospitals.

In the future, Dassault Systèmes plans to strengthen its efforts in areas including building material development, waste management, and building sustainability, he pointed out.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione