CANNES, France (AFP) — Tucked away amid a mass of gleaming European and American vessels at a boatshow on the French Riviera stands a lone but significant new arrival -- a powerboat made in distant Dongguan in China.
For its makers, and for a delegation of Chinese manufacturers visiting the annual "Festival de la Plaisance" pleasure boating jamboree in the chic southern resort of Cannes, this is just the beginning.
The "trawler yacht," as it is known for its similarity to a fishing trawler, is made by Selene Yachts, a Chinese manufacturer with a sales outlet on the southern French coast since 2003.
As a stroll around Cannes will prove, European and American firms currently have the market sewn up. French sailing boat manufacturers are number one in the world while Italy dominates the market for powerboats and for yachts over 24 metres (79 feet) long.
But Chinese firms are knocking at the door.
"The quality (of Chinese boats) is identical to European and American boats but for half the price or even less," says Mark Seaton, managing director in France for Selene, who says the company sells around 20 units each year in Europe.
Alan Zhao, vice-president of Chinese yacht and motor boat maker Sunbird, is visiting Cannes with the Chinese delegation and is also charting a course for the export market.
"Building a yacht, it's not magic, not even high-tech. It's no harder than a car," says Zhao. "We are not yet selling abroad. Our objective is to have at least one boat next year at Cannes."
Back home, China's newly well-heeled are only just beginning to discover pleasure boating with just 400 private boats registered, 95 percent of which are motorised.
"The development is recent because the Chinese elite only began to discover pleasure boating three of four years ago," explains Delphine Lignieres, director of a marketing agency in Shanghai.
"The image of the Chinese as people who can't swim and who don't like the sun is changing progressively. Since 2004 three magazines dedicated to pleasure boating have launched in China, around 20 marinas have been created ... and there is at least the same amount in the works," Lignieres says.
In the past three years, Shanghai's boat show, one of Asia's biggest, has grown sixfold in terms of area and the number of exhibitors has tripled.
And now, having stolen a march in just about every other industry, Chinese companies are setting their sights on one area where European and American firms still predominate.
"At the moment there are around 30 Chinese manufacturers that could export," Lignieres said.
But Tibor Sillinger, director of France's Federation des Industries Nautiques, is putting a brave face on the new threat and is confident that the Europeans can stand their ground.
"The brand is a very strong idea in the water sports sector and is a strong asset for the European and French industry," he said.
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