A trip into China's interior is full of cultural delights. For travelers, it provides an opportunity to see the 'real. China, and an escape from the hustle and bustle of the ever-expanding east coast with all its modern trappings. But the inner regions want a piece of the action too, and Sichuan province, home of the giant panda, famously spicy food, and the revered former leader of China, Deng Xiaoping, is catching up fast. Its capital, Chengdu, has established itself as a regional center and has designs on making itself the key city in China's Wild West, after years of lagging behind its more prosperous counterparts on the east coast.

Strong support from the central government is fuelling growth in Chengdu, and government contact with the European Chamber has been very positive, says Xavier Maurey, Chairman of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China's Chengdu Board. "In terms of a general business environment . we have a strong will from the Chinese authorities to move west, because there is the problem that the economy is developing very fast on the coast, but if the authorities are not trying to do something to develop the hinterland, then throngs of migrants will move into the already crowded cities in the east. They have been trying to move west for years, but It's starting to become a reality now."

The Sichuanese mindset, says Maurey, also contributes to the healthy business environment . because the Chengdu people love their city so much, not so many leave, and those who do, almost always return. "You have people studying in Sichuan then going to Beijing or Shanghai because they are attracted by the lure of the big city. But after a while they come back and they consider moving back to where they like best . Sichuan, with its environment, food, and the good opportunities they have here." Maurey continues, "I guess It's the same in the East. You send a Shanghainese somewhere and later he may want to come home. But here there is a very strong Sichaunese identity, there is a way of life, they enjoy life very much, they try to get the most pleasure they can get out of life, but they also work hard."

Going hi-tech

Maurey also says Chengdu is proving to be a center of technological excellence, as the city has the ideal foundations for such business in the form of low operating costs, and a deep talent pool .lled by strong local universities. "High-tech is an area where many cities in China like to involve themselves. They are not doing badly here and they are well supported by good universities, and the very fact that Intel and other companies are coming to this place means that there is obviously some attraction. If you go drive around the science parks here you can really see what.s going on - there are some big names here and there's a big emphasis from the province to push this industry, that.s for sure."

The hi-tech industry is growing fast in Chengdu. Stone Shi, Site Manager at Motorola.s Chengdu Software Center, has been with his company for 10 years. Originally from Jiangsu province on the east coast, Shi was lured back to Chengdu where he attended Sichuan University. He says the city has all the right ingredients to be a technology center. "The reason why we are here is due to several factors. The cost here is quite low compared with the east coast of China. And of course the people here are very good as we have excellent universities here in Sichuan, so they provide us with a huge talent pool." Shi echoes Maurey.s sentiment that Chendgu enjoys low staff turnover rates "The people here are quite stable. If you look at this center the attrition rate is quite low compared with the east of China."

Motorola has had a presence in the city since 1998, and their new software center develops programs for telecommunications applications, including the E911 . a computerized response system which makes emergency services more ef.cient.

Shi says "The government here is quite supportive. They encouraged us and provided us good services. When we have some problems with recruitment we talk to the government to help, and we had some issues with security in the past but there are no problems now."

There are problems, however, with energy supply - which is crucial for high-tech industry. "Sometimes in this area we have power shortages," explains Shi. "We talked to the government about it and they made sure there would be no impact on this facility. The power supply for this site is very, very important. We have UPS [uninterruptible power supply] which keeps our computers running for eight hours, and then everything goes down."

The government is also encouraging the development of the game software industry in Chengdu. "game software is big here. This is something Chengdu is trying to drive - they want to create a game software city here. We are hoping to build our relationship with the government and university so we can attract more talented people." Shi added "In terms of software development, I think we will see more technology companies coming to this region. If you are developing software in Chengdu, infrastructure doesn't matter as much - you don't have to be close to the sea."

Shi is excited about the future of Chengdu, which includes a subway system, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2008. "There's going to be a tremendous change. Not every city can get approval for subways from central government. It's going to be taking off and growing a lot in the coming five years." With this change will come a noticeable rise in the standard of living, coupled with an inevitable increase in living costs. "But that's part of life, right?," asks Shi. "It's like two sides of a sword."

French Connection

A city of some 10 million, Chengdu doesn't look all that different from the average Chinese metropolis. Perhaps there aren't quite so many big name-western retailers on the shopping streets, but a stroll around town does reveal French retailer Carrefour. Is this evidence of a French connection? Yes, says Serge Leclercq, director of the government-backed French educational organization Alliance Francaise, who says Chengdu is embracing all things French. "I know that French restaurants do okay because a lot of people want to experience French culture. A lot of Chinese people are studying English and It's interesting to see that they also want to study another language, they want to broaden their knowledge. They are very interested in French cultural activities, particularly because It's been the year of France in China."

Leclercq began his career as a teacher in French literature. He worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France where his task was to open new schools in China. In 1984 he was in charge of a special program for Chinese students to go to France to study, and he also operated in the Czech Republic where he opened several more French schools. He has run Alliance Francaise for the last two years in Chengdu.

Education is a key issue in Chengdu for attracting overseas talent, says Leclercq, and the facilities are now in place for French expats to bring over their families. "We have opened a new French school for Chinese children, so that means now that more French business people can come to Chengdu. Previously only young foreign people or foreigners without children could come here," he says.

The French presence has great spin-off benefits for business, says Leclercq. "In Chendgu we can .nd good Chinese-French translators more and more. This is a great development for us. There are more and more French companies coming here. Last year we had Groupama [insurance company] arrive, and Airbus is already here."

Other Gallic developments include French retailer Carrefour opening its 9,300 square-meter Chengdu store in January, and the establishment of a Chengdu-to-Paris fiight. "Everything is growing fast. I think there is a special effort in making Chengdu a new destination for French companies."

But why the French attraction? There isn't anything about Chengdu that the French .nd more attractive than anyone else, says Leclercq, there is just a fertile field for business investment. "The economic conditions are very good in Chengdu. Many companies .nd that in the West of China there's more opportunity than elsewhere. I think now the field is more open here so it's easier to do business here."

EuroBiz October 2005 73Leclercq thinks that the freshness of Chengdu means there are fewer obstacles for foreign investors compared with the east coast. "In Shanghai there's a lot of competition between many companies; here It's newer, so It's easier. When I speak with French colleagues they never mention any special difficulties here, but when I was in Shanghai and Dalian, I heard many complaints about doing business."

Chicken and the egg

An important consideration in the development of any city goes beyond the construction of material faculties like infrastructure, new factories, and the migration of new business to a city. All regions need cultural centers that attract artistic people who play an important role in making a city a tempting place to live. Leclercq says Chengdu is developing fast in this area. "We have a cultural difference in Sichuan from the rest of China, and there are many Chinese intellectuals here. There are writers, artists, musicians and China's first psychoanalyst is here. There is a very open culture."

The French are famed for their love of culture and have great pride in their own, so it comes as no surprise that Leclercq.s organization is highly involved in community activities in Chengdu. "For the French companies, Alliance Francaise is very important, because if we organize a French cultural event, they know they can have some French activities to take part in. We recently had a July 14 national day party (Bastille), so its an important part of life here. We can help companies who are looking for French speakers, and can organize French classes in their company."

Fellow Frenchman Maurey says the establishment of a proper international school in the city, is of vital importance to its future. "I think the European Chamber, besides helping our members, has an important role to play in advising the authorities to help them bring more foreign business here. And that means we need a good international school." Maurey continues, "In some industries you may need people in that bracket of 38-50 years old, they have kids, and say .is there a school there?. But It's like the chicken and the egg . if you have no school people don't come, but you can't build a school if there are not enough children."

Make no mistake though, foreign business people will soon be queuing up to relocate to Chengdu with their families in tow, and a new school will have to be hatched somewhere. And as investors and entrepreneurs look for the next big thing, the two sides of China, east and west, will grow closer. With tales of limitless investment opportunities on the east coast yesterday.s news, tomorrow we might be hearing how the Chinese West was won.