Investment: Efforts are expected to attract more foreign companies.
Market watchers and business leaders said on Tuesday that multinational companies will continue to increase their investment in China this year as their huge consumption potential and innovation capabilities have boosted confidence.
They are optimistic because they expect China to grow faster than most major economies this year, despite headwinds. They attribute this to the improvement of national competitiveness and changes in the international landscape, noting that today's Chinese market is both a huge consumer market and a developed innovation center.
Zhang Wei, vice president of the Beijing-based China Academy of International Economic Cooperation, said foreign investors are increasingly valuing China's modern industrial infrastructure, innovation ecosystem and research talent.
This sentiment is in line with the latest data. More than 80 percent of foreign companies are satisfied with China's business environment in 2023, while more than 90 percent find the Chinese market attractive, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the China Council for the Promotion of International Excellence (CCOIC).
The survey, conducted by the country's highest foreign** and investment promotion agency, also showed that nearly 70% of these companies are optimistic about the market outlook for the next five years.
Yang Fan, spokeswoman for the China Council for the Promotion of International Cooperation, said at a monthly press conference in Beijing that more than 90 percent of foreign companies surveyed expect their returns on investment in China to remain stable or increase over the next five years.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, China's actual outward FDI remained at an all-time high, reaching 113 trillion yuan ($158 billion).
Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said at a news conference in Beijing on Friday that China will continue to push for its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement this year as part of its efforts to promote deeper economic integration, promote foreign affairs and attract global capital.
Zheng Chiping, director of the Department of Foreign Investment and Overseas Investment of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China will roll out a package of measures this year to increase efforts to attract foreign investment. **Efforts will be made to solve the problems existing in the investment of foreign enterprises in China.
Pan Yuanyuan, an assistant researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that in view of China's supportive policies, multinational companies are keen to invest in areas such as new energy, digital transformation, intelligent manufacturing and e-commerce in the coming years.
Yin Zheng, executive vice president of Schneider Electric's China and East Asia business at French industrial and technology group, said that as China enters a new era of innovation-led growth, Schneider Electric will continue to strengthen its "China Center" strategy this year in terms of talent, innovation, chain and ecosystem development.
Driven by China's boom in auto production and green transformation, U.S.-based tire maker Goodyear Tire & Rubber *** plans to complete the second phase of its plant in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, by the end of this year.
The project has an investment of 200 million US dollars and is expected to bring in additional operating income of 700 million yuan per year.
Chris Helsel, Goodyear's senior vice president of global business, said: "Thanks to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, we also export tires from our Chinese plants to Japan and some Southeast Asian countries. ”