Raphaël Jacquelin identified countryman Alexander Levy as the man to beat at the Shenzhen International after shooting an opening 68 at Genzon Golf Club.
Jacquelin made six birdies and two bogeys in the first round to sit two shots behind Levy, who got his tournament under way with an eagle and four bogeys in an unblemished 66.
That is not Levy's lowest round at Genzon - he shot a 62 en route to victory at the 2014 Volvo China Open - and Jacquelin believes his fellow Frenchman will take some beating this week.
"I'm trying to keep on Mr Levy," he said. "It looks like he's in form and he loves to play; so if I stay around him, I won't be too far (away).
"I played well, I managed to get a lot of opportunities for birdie. I played a bit more solid than the week before, so I'm very pleased with four under.
I'm working on it to be back and to play more solid - Raphaël Jacquelin
"I like the course. It's quite interesting. It's playing a little softer. That's always a lot easier for us, but three more rounds to go, so I'm going to do exactly the same and we'll see at the end."
Tommy Fleetwood was also full of praise for playing partner Levy after he fired a 69 in his first round. The Englishman has finished second and third in the past two seasons at Genzon and was happy with his opening effort.
"I'd have taken it before I set out," he said.
"I drove it okay. The rest of it wasn't particularly great. I didn't hit my irons that great, and I made a couple of good up-and-downs and then picked up a couple of shots on the front nine with some good putts."
On Levy, he added: "I knew that was a good score. Alex played great today, a pleasure to watch really. He played fantastic and I was just grinding it out behind him trying to take no notice of what he was doing, but he played very well."
Joost Luiten was alongside Jacquelin at four under as he seeks a sixth top ten in nine events this season. The Dutchman turned in 35 and picked up three shots on the back nine as he continued his rich vein of form.
"At the end of the day, you need to hit some good shots and that's what I did on the back nine, created more birdie chances, and then you can roll them in," he said.
"On the front nine I was just a bit too far away from the pins and then it's difficult making putts.
"I've got to stay in the same mindset as last week and I've done that, so I'm happy."
