Senior executives at Sainsbury’s last month met with government officials in China to discuss the possibility of opening the group’s first overseas stores in almost a decade, reported the UK Press Association.
The Guardian newspaper reported the company is assessing whether it should open a chain of stores in Beijing and elsewhere in the country.
A spokesman from Sainsbury’s said the project was more a feasibility study and no firm decision has yet been made, but he added: “We are looking at all the options.”
If Sainsbury’s goes ahead with store openings in the country it will mark the company’s first overseas foray since it sold its US business Shaw’s in 2004.
The move would pit Sainsbury’s, the UK’s third-biggest grocer, against Tesco’s, which has plans to open 80 giant lifestyle malls in China.
Sainsbury’s would also face competition from Carrefour and Wal-mart, with both groups having spent almost a decade building operations in China.
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