Visitors talk at Carrefour's booth?at the 2013 China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services,?May 29, 2013. [Photo/icpress.cn]

French chain store operator Carrefour SA will continue to expand in China and plans to open more stores in self-owned properties, according to Thierry Garnier, president and CEO of Carrefour China.

Garnier was quoted by China Business News as saying that Carrefour is still confident about the Chinese market and will open more than 20 new stores annually around China.

The business format of Carrefour will continue to be the hypermarket, which has been adopted by the company since it entered in China in 1995.

Carrefour is operating 228 stores around China and most are rented properties. Garnier did not reveal what proportion of the company's stores it expected to be self-owned in future.

Increasing rental costs have placed serious constraints on the development of foreign retailers in China. Tesco closed its first store in Changning district in Shanghai in September, after 15 years of operation, with the explanation that "the lease expires". According to media reports, the store was making a profit but the rent had doubled over a period of 10 years.