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"We are also in talks with Shanghai Huayi (Group) Co and its subsidiary Double Coin Holdings Ltd about establishing a new joint venture to produce tires," said Rollier.
However, he told China Daily that the project is still in the initial phase and declined to disclose further details.
China's automobile industry has boomed in the past two years, making the country the largest vehicle market in the world with 18 million units in total sales last year. The country has also been on the radar of multinational tire manufacturers as a future business engine. The world's top 10 tiremakers have all established manufacturing bases in China.
Last week, the German tiremaker Continental AG opened its first Chinese plant in Hefei, Anhui province, with a total investment of 185 million euros ($262 million), to produce tires for passenger cars. It will launch another factory in Jinan, Shandong province this week.
To maintain Michelin's leadership amid fierce competition, Rollier also said that the company is considering setting up regional R D facilities in China in the near future.
"Obviously we need it in China, as we see the importance of the Chinese market and its consumers. We need to be close to them, and provide products to meet their specific requirements," said Rollier.
Michelin also plans to expand its retail network for passenger vehicle tires in China. It currently has more than 3,000 dealerships across the country.
"The next challenge is to expand our distribution and service network into smaller cities and inland cities," said Rollier.
When compared with the United States in terms of the number of tires produced for passenger vehicles, China is a relatively small market, accounting for about one-third of the US market.
However, "China is one of our fastest growing markets, and that's why we need to heavily invest here," said Rollier.
