On October 28, 2016, the opening ceremony of the French Theme Month was held in the headquarters of ChemChina. The French Theme Month is a part of the National Theme Month, which is a cultural bonding activity between Chinese and foreign enterprises. Mr. Robert Lacombe, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy in China, attended the ceremony and expressed his congratulations upon the event.
In 2006, Adisseo, a global leader in animal nutrition based in France, joined ChemChina as its first overseas subsidiary; in the same year, Bluestar Silicones International (BSI), also a French enterprise, joined ChemChina, which marked the start of the internationalization of ChemChina. Over the past decade, ChemChina has developed into an international enterprise group, where the operating income of its overseas enterprises accounts for 55% of its total revenue, and foreign employees account for one third of all employees. With the strong support from ChemChina, Adisseo has developed very fast, further strengthening its position as a world leader in the production of nutritional additives for animal feed; BSI has grown into a leading integrated silicone producer. France is an important investment and development base of ChemChina, and holds an important position in the global industrial layout of ChemChina.
The opening ceremony started with the video titled The Light of the World; the Louvre, Bordeaux red wine, Adisseo, Bluestar Silicones...a string of “French prides” led the audience into the charming land of France.
Mr. Robert Lacombe, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy in China, spoke highly of the significance of the National Theme Month held by ChemChina, and expressed his gratitude to China National Bluestar (Group) Co, Ltd as well as its subsidiaries of Adisseo and BSI, for the meticulous preparations. “China and France have long-standing friendship and conduct extensive exchanges in trade, science and technology, and culture; ChemChina is an exemplary participant in deep-going Sino-French economic and trade cooperation and it has contributed to economic growth and cultural integration of two countries,” said Robert Lacombe. “I believe that the sincere cooperation and joint efforts of the Chinese and French enterprises will further promote the long-term development of bilateral relations”.
In his speech, Ren Jianxin, Chairman of both ChemChina and Bluestar, extolled France’s splendid history and culture and outstanding modern achievements in science and technology. ChemChina is the biggest Chinese corporate investor in France. As of 2016, Bluestar’s accumulative capital investment and R & D investment in France had respectively reached nearly EUR300 million (about RMB2.5 billion) and EUR380 million (about RMB3.2 billion), and it had provided nearly 2000 jobs for local people. He said, “The excellent overseas enterprises’ entry into ChemChina has brought along the world’s leading technology and advanced management philosophy as well as useful ideas for the transformation and upgrading of domestic enterprises.”
Mr. Gerald, a board director of Bluestar and Chairman of Adisseo Group as well as a winner of the Friendship Award from the Chinese Government, and Mr. Oliver, CSO and a board director of Bluestar, shared with the guests present the development and harvest of Adisseo and BSI after they joined Bluestar and ChemChina.
At the ceremony, students from the French Language Department of Beijing Foreign Studies University staged a passionate performance of singing and dancing on Avenue des Champs-Elysees. This performance gave a pleasant surprise to Counselor Robert Lacombe, Mr. Gerald and Mr. Oliver, all of whom shot the wonderful and moving moment with their cell phones or cameras.
It is reported that this French Theme Month will also include a series of salons, in which well-known experts will be invited to give specialized introductions to the French culture, food and tourism, in order to help the Chinese people gain a deeper understanding of French history, culture and heritage, and further enhance the Sino-French cultural exchange and integration.
The National Theme Month is a corporate culture activity, aimed at strengthening the integration of Chinese and foreign enterprises and prompting their employees to learn about the history, culture, economy and society of each other’s country, in order to lay a good foundation for further strengthening the communication, integration, collaboration and mutual assistance between Chinese and foreign enterprises. The Italian Theme Month held this June proved popular among the Chinese and Italian employees, and won high praises from the Italian Embassy in China.