Retail giant Carrefour plans to open 20 new branches in China this year with an investment of about 150 million euros, said Eric Legros, newly-appointed president of Carrefour China.

Carrefour will continue to regard metropolises such as Beijing and Shanghai as the focus of its expansion in China. Meanwhile, it will quicken development in China's medium and small-sized cities, Legros said in an interview.

It will open more branches in northeast and northwest China, according to Legros.

Carrefour entered China in 1995 and had 92 branches in the country at the end of 2006.

Carrefour currently has no plans to acquire local retailers in China, and will not compete with other rivals in terms of the number of stores, said Legros.

U.S.-based Wal-Mart, Carrefour's global rival, has now set up 73 stores in China, and plans to open another 50 stores this year.

Source: Xinhua