Of the 50-odd French business leaders followed President Jacques Chirac to visit China, Mr. Patrick Kron, chairman and CEO of Alstom (one of global top 500) is no doubt a big winner. In a few days Alstom signed contact one after another, with the total contractual value nearing 1.5 billion euros, a sum rarely seen in quite a number of years. On October 12, Mr. Patrick Kron, who had just signed an agreement to provide trains for the extension line of Shanghai No. 1 Subway Line, appeared before reporter of the People's Daily, beaming with satisfaction. Talking about the fruits of his China trip this time, he could hardly conceal his excitement and confidence.

Before reporter asked questions, Mr. Patrick Kron said first that the past few days bore historic significance for Alstom, marking an unprecedented new stage of the company's business in China. He revealed that the total sales of Alstom in China last year was 500 million euros, a figure the company planned earlier to secure in coming two years. The huge-sum orders signed this time apparently went beyond the company's pre-set goals. He told reporter that the contracts involved railway business as well as large-scale hydraulic and nuclear power projects, further consolidating Alstom's strategic advantages in the two central fields of power and track transportation on the Chinese market.

Indeed, along with the trend of China's rapid economic development, there are vigorous market demands in the two major basic fields of power and transportation, which are also important theaters of rivalry between internationals. Mr. Patrick Kron attributes Alstom's success in China to three reasons. First, in the fields of track transportation and power in which Alstom is a giant, China possesses world biggest and fastest growing markets, whose continuous rising brings corresponding business opportunities for enterprises; second, Alstom has a long-term development strategy to China. Alstom's entry into China is not a short-term plan, as a matter of fact its time of serving the country being almost as long as the history of New China. As early as in the 1950s, Alstom provided China its first batch of electric locomotives and electric-drive diesel locomotives. In 1979, Alstom set up its representative office in Beijing, thus becoming one of the earliest internationals came to China to expanding business after the reform and opening up. Over a dozen years having passed, Alstom has built up two holding companies and many joint ventures here, expanding business continuously. Third, the company pays high attention to China. Head of the company for only one year, Mr. Patrick Kron has been in China six times. Top Alstom managers are shuttling between France and China even more frequently, and the executive committee, the company's top management body, will held its annual plenary session in China this year.

It's easy to see that among the three "weapons" Mr. Patrick Kron stressed, long-term footed China strategy is the key part, while whose core is technology transfer and localization. In the eyes of Alstom, Mr. Patrick Kron pointed out, China is far more than an export market. Over the years, Alstom has been bending on merging into China through technology transfer and localized production to meet Chinese and international market demands by equipment manufactured in China. For example, the 1.5 billion euro projects signed this time all involve technology transfer.

In explaining the strategy Mr. Patrick Kron proposed his "triple-win" theory. First, technology transfer and localized production will help Alstom to obtain huge-value contracts to expand business rapidly in China; second, this will help Alstom's Chinese partners to share its advanced technology so as to grow stranger; third, localization is the top choice for cutting costs and customers of both sides could get high-tech equipment with high quality and low price. Meanwhile, through cooperation with Chinese enterprises it will become possible to provide solutions tailored for customers. Here he further stressed that his huge harvest by this trip is just a result of joint efforts by Alstom and its Chinese partners.

Talking about the unavoidable Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, which remains undecided, Mr. Patrick Kron said that speed raising of China's railway is a gradual process, and the speed of trains Alstom provids to its Chinese partners this time for the nation's sixth speed raising is 200-250km per hour, which offers a proper platform for Alstom's participation in higher speed program in future. The fruits achieved in the past few days apparently boosted Patrick Kron's confidence in the program, which, no doubt, stems from strength.

By People's Daily Online