French environmental solutions firm sees China as chance for opportunities

French environmental solutions provider Veolia Group expects strong growth from the Chinese market in 2023, as the ever-optimizing policies create massive opportunities in ecological and environmental protection in the country, said a top company official.

Despite the backdrop of a possible global economic recession, Veolia remains optimistic about China's economy and its operations in the country this year, considering the strong determination of the Chinese government to combat pollution, said Christophe Maquet, senior executive vice-president of Veolia's Asia-Pacific region.

"Despite the impacts of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the company still achieved better-than-expected performance globally last year and we are confident and optimistic about our operations in China's water, solid waste and energy management sectors in 2023," he said.

Maquet said the confidence in the Chinese market comes not only from its market size but also from the speed of its development.

"Veolia will continue to work with its local partners to provide comprehensive resource management optimization solutions for ecological transformation," he said.

Despite the COVID-19 outbreaks in China, Veolia still managed to carry out water and soil restoration projects with local companies including Jinneng Holding Group last year while conducting new projects including indoor air purification for the Shanghai Museum, he said.

Maquet believes that China's ambition to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 has also given foreign companies like Veolia guidance for development, presenting multinational corporations with numerous opportunities.

An analyst said that many foreign corporations have been stepping up efforts to align their core businesses with China's market demand.

China's current focus on the development of a low-carbon and circular economy has become a strategic focus for more Chinese companies as well as multinationals, said Tang Sisi, an analyst at research firm BloombergNEF.

Veolia said it would accelerate cooperation with Chinese stakeholders in 2023 to further benefit from future expansion of the market, including opportunities in hazardous waste treatment, industrial services and circular economy as well as plastic recycling, energy management for building energy and industrial customers, said Maquet.

The company is also working on electric vehicle battery treatment, another area that will be a promising area for Veolia's development in China, the biggest market for EVs and EV batteries.

Veolia currently operates a trial recycling project for used power batteries in Jiangmen, Guangdong province.

"China's decarbonization goal is a good opportunity for foreign companies like Veolia. We would like to continue to share our experience and knowledge with China and realize green development together with our Chinese partners," he said.