French Carrefour SA, the world's second-largest retailer by revenue, plans to open 20 new hypermarkets annually and enter 30 new cities in the next three years, a move to keep up a strong expansion pace in further developing markets in lower-tier cities in western and central China.

Thierry Garnier, president and chief executive officer of Carrefour China, announced on Thursday in Beijing the group is expected to open 60 new stores to expand its presence to a total of 100 cities within three years, with most new stores opened in third- and fourth-tier cities in the country. Carrefour now has 236 stores in 73 cities in the country.

Despite the strong competition and challenging retail market, Carrefour still sees many opportunities linked to new policies from the government, said the CEO. "We decided to create new territories in central and western China to open more stores and put in more resources," Garnier said after accompanying visiting French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to a Carrefour store in the Shuangjing area of the Chinese capital on Thursday afternoon. "Our plan is to open new stores to maintain strong expansion speed in the future."