La Lettre de l'Institut des Sciences et des Techniques de l'Equipement et de l'Environnement pour le Développement.

 

Editorial

Franco-Chinese cooperation
The Ministry for Infrastructure is playing an active role

The development of China will be a major global issue in the coming decades. China is already a major player which influences the Western economies, whether in connection with tension over the price of raw materials, the opportunities afforded by its immense market or the risks of relocation.
Recent events have been marked by the start of the Year of France in China, with the visit of the President of the Republic accompanied, in particular, by the Minister for Infrastructure Gilles de Robien and a delegation of company directors. This visit provided an opportunity for the signing of a large number of contracts, many of which fell within the Ministry's remit. It also provided the opportunity to sign a cooperation agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Railways to enhance the training of engineers.
In addition to all these events, I would like to begin by reminding readers of some figures. China has a population of 1.3 million people, which as many as all the developed countries in the OECD together. Its economy has taken off with an annual rate of growth of over 7% and China is expected to overtake the United States in about the year 2040*.
This growth is generating substantial needs for infrastructure: China is the size of a continent and has South-East Asian population densities: in the next 40 years it will have to build 20 times more infrastructure - roads, railways, housing, metros, etc. - than France possesses at the present time.
In this context, the Ministry is playing an active role, first of all supporting firms by, for example, Ministerial visits, the "High Speed China Taskforce" and placing a senior highways engineer at the disposal of the economic mission in Beijing. Next, in order to increase institutional cooperation in the areas of roads and railways, there is a reception programme involving 60 engineers over three years. Town planning and urban transportation are also present with, in particular, cooperation between the CETE** du Sud-Ouest, the City of Toulouse and the City of Chongqing, etc. Lastly, the Ministry is supporting ParisTech development projects in China by sending a senior highways engineer to Shanghai to be at the disposal of the Authorities. We have also launched a forward study into the development of transport in China over the next 30 to 50 years with the LET*** and the Institut de la Ville en Mouvement.
In the framework of the year of France in China, the Minister is organizing Infrastructure Seminars on the topics of Roads, Transportation and ITS in Chongqing on 29 October and in Canton on 1 and 2 November. These seminars are to be organized with the support of Ubifrance and the Chongqing City Authorities and will provide an opportunity for us to forge new links and support French companies.

Paul Schwach,

Director of Economic and International Affairs,
Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport, Spatial Planning, Tourism and the Sea (METATM)

* According to a recent forecast by Goldman Sachs concerning the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China)
**Centre d'études techniques de l'équipement (South-Western Regional Infrastructure Engineering Centre)
***Laboratoire d'économie des transports (Transport Economics Laboratory)

Contents

• The Ministry for Infrastructure is playing an active role

• Feature: Franco-Chinese Cooperation.On the occasion of the Infrastructure Seminars to be organized in Chongqing and Canton (October/November 2004) by the METATM in the framework of the Year of France in China, this issue is entirely devoted to Franco-Chinese cooperation. The projects that are presented illustrate its diversity and include training, urban transportation, railways and town planning.
  

• Information Update : News-Events-Training sessions-Publications 

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