Insee Analyses · March 2023 · n° 80

The opposite effects on French industrial firms of the rise in Chinese imports in the 2000s: competition on sales but lower production costs

French imports of products from China rose sharply in the 2000s. For French manufacturing companies selling goods similar to Chinese goods, this increased competition penalized their sales, employment and innovation. This negative effect was especially visible on the least productive firms. However, the increase in imports of Chinese products might have benefited firms using inputs for their production for which competition from China had increased, which limited the decline in industrial employment.