Recently, executives from many overseas foreign companies have visited China intensively. On June 14, Bill Gates, co-chairman of the US Gates Foundation and founder of Microsoft, arrived in Beijing to seek further cooperation with China in areas such as strengthening innovation, global poverty reduction, public health, drug research and development, and rural agriculture. Recently, a number of foreign company executives have visited China one after another. On May 31, Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Shanghai, attracting great attention from media at home and abroad. Before and after that, executives from Apple, Starbucks, Sanofi, Intel, Siemens and many other multinational companies also came to China one after another.
Not only that, the investment of some foreign-funded enterprises has soared. According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce, from January to May this year, the actual investment in China by France, the United Kingdom, and Canada has increased by more than 100%, and the actual investment in China by France has soared by 429.7%. What kind of signals are released by the intensive visits of foreign company executives to China? Why has foreign investment in China soared, and what does it mean?
Foreign executives flock to expand cooperation
Not long ago, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry led the leaders of the chambers of commerce in various German states to visit China. They were full of enthusiasm for understanding the Chinese market, enhancing mutual trust, and expanding cooperation.
Peter Adrian, Chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Through face-to-face dialogue, we have received many positive signals, including the Chinese government’s commitment to continuously improve the level of opening up and comprehensively optimize the business environment, etc., which provides certainty for multinational companies.
At the end of May, Tesla CEO Musk’s 44-hour visit to China received great attention from media at home and abroad. Before and after, executives from Starbucks, Sanofi, Intel, ADM, Rio Tinto and many other multinational companies also visited China one after another. In late March this year, the Minister of Commerce of China met intensively with the executives of more than 10 multinational companies including Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Qualcomm.
Meng Tianqi, CEO of Siemens Healthcare: China has a large number of R&D talents, and we are committed to creating an ecosystem of technological innovation based on the Chinese market.
Bo Leren, President and CEO of Siemens AG: This time in China, I will discuss with relevant departments and customers how to empower the development of the real economy through digital technology and contribute to the high-quality development of the Chinese economy.
Toben Christensen, Senior Vice President of Danfoss Group Global Services: The investment environment here is constantly optimized and improved, and we choose to continue to develop together with the Chinese market.
What is the signal sent by the intensive visit of foreign executives to China?
Executives from foreign companies have come to China one after another, and their business involves automobiles, consumption, manufacturing, medical care, finance, electronic technology and other fields. What signal does such intensive visitation release?
Pan Yuanyuan, associate researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: Low cost, large market, and mature supply chain are important reasons why many foreign companies are optimistic about the Chinese market. From the perspective of cost, China has a competitive advantage in the comprehensive cost of labor, raw materials, energy, logistics, etc.; from the perspective of supply chain, China is now the only country in the world that has all industrial categories, and the stability and maturity of the entire supply chain are high; From the perspective of the market, China’s population, per capita GDP and economic growth are expected to have huge potential, and are strongly attractive to foreign companies. In addition, in recent years, my country has introduced a number of relevant policies and measures to ensure the stable income of foreign capital.
Many foreign-funded enterprises continue to increase investment in China
Executives from foreign companies have come to China one after another to seek and expand cooperation, and at the same time continue to “cast a vote of confidence” for the Chinese market with practical actions.
BMW Group’s new power battery project with a total investment of 10 billion yuan has started in Shenyang; Danfoss Group has increased its capital in Jiaxing, Zhejiang for the ninth time in 18 years; Rio Tinto has signed a contract with the CIIE for the next 5 years, making full use of the CIIE as a platform to explore development opportunities …
Nordkovic, Director of BMW Group: Chinese-style modernization has created new opportunities for foreign investment in China, and has aroused widespread attention and interest around the world.
In the mind of Bo Leren, President and CEO of Siemens AG, the Chinese market is large and innovative. He said that Siemens has invested heavily in China in the past and will continue to do so in the future. He also revealed that important plans to accelerate development and further capital increase in China have been launched.
Bo Leren, President and CEO of Siemens AG: We will invest 1.1 billion yuan to build a Chinese intelligent manufacturing base for Siemens industrial automation products in Chengdu. At the same time, we announced that we will establish Siemens Digital Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. R&D and manufacturing capabilities in the field of digitalization.
Enhancing investment attraction, strengthening investment service guarantee
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 16th that recent reports released by some chambers of commerce in China show that most of the interviewed foreign companies are optimistic about the prospects for China’s economic development. Among them, nearly 60% of American companies are positive about China’s economic recovery, 86% of British companies are optimistic about the long-term potential of the Chinese market, and more than 90% of Japanese companies plan to expand or maintain their business in China. At present, my country is stepping up efforts to attract investment and strengthen investment service guarantees. China is constantly providing opportunities for the world with its own new development and high-level opening up.
On the 14th, the National Development and Reform Commission announced that my country is studying the introduction of policies and measures to attract foreign investment more vigorously, introducing more vigorous investment attraction policies, reasonably reducing the negative list of foreign investment access, and further improving foreign investment promotion and services.
Yuan Da, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Development and Reform Commission: We will continue to hold a series of international industrial investment cooperation activities to provide a platform for multinational companies to invest in China and local investment promotion, improve the direct contact point mechanism for foreign-funded enterprises, unblock communication channels, and coordinate and solve problems in a timely manner The problems and reasonable appeals reported by enterprises provide convenience for enterprise investment and production and operation.
At present, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in my country and the actual use of foreign capital have shown a steady and positive trend. In the first four months of this year, the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises in my country increased by 31.1% year-on-year, and the actual use of foreign capital was 499.46 billion yuan, an increase of 2.2% year-on-year. According to a recent survey report by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, 97% of the interviewed foreign companies were more than satisfied with the foreign investment policies issued by the Chinese government since the fourth quarter of last year; Satisfaction with venues and promotion of market competition indicators exceeded 80%.
What is the signal of the sharp increase in foreign capital investment of executives intensively coming to China?
How enthusiastic are some multinational companies investing in China? According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce of China: In terms of sources, from January to May this year, the actual investment in China from France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan increased by 429.7%, 179.2%, 170.1% and 63.3% respectively. What does the increase in investment by some foreign companies in China mean?
Pan Yuanyuan, associate researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: The growth of foreign investment in China sends two signals. On the one hand, China is stepping up its efforts to attract foreign capital; on the other hand, foreign capital needs the Chinese market. The stable income in the Chinese market is an intuitive driving force for foreign companies to invest in China. The large scale and multiple levels of the Chinese market are also important reasons for attracting foreign investment from various industries to China. (CCTV news client)
[Responsible editor: Zhan Yuquan]