China continues to launch measures to expand opening up and improve the business environment, and the scale of investment has reached a new high——

  Foreign companies optimistic about China's economic development prospects

  Our reporter Qu Song Yang Xun Niu Ruifei Sun Guangyong

  The State Council Information Office recently held a press conference to introduce the operation of the national economy in 2021.

In US dollar terms, China's import and export volume of goods trade in 2021 will be US$6.05 trillion, and its share of the world market will continue to increase.

The actual use of foreign capital was 1,149.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%, and the scale of foreign investment reached a new record high.

According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, from 2017 to 2020, China remained the world's second largest foreign capital inflow country for four consecutive years, and in 2020 it became the world's first country in terms of foreign direct investment flow.

Representatives of foreign companies interviewed by this reporter said that China's continuous expansion of opening up and improvement of the business environment have made them more confident in China's economic development prospects, and they are willing to continue to deepen the Chinese market and share development opportunities.

China remains attractive to foreign investment

  "Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the process of world economic recovery has shown obvious uncertainty, but China's momentum of attracting foreign investment is still strong." Reuters Chinese website recently published an article saying that China's economic fundamentals have been improving for a long time. It has comprehensive competitive advantages in aspects such as infrastructure, business environment, etc., and is highly attractive to foreign investment.

  Dow signed a memorandum of cooperation with relevant parties in March last year to build a manufacturing base in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, with an initial investment of US$250 million.

Xu Yang, the relevant person in charge of Dow, said that with the signing of more and more multilateral and bilateral trade and investment agreements and the continuous advancement of cross-border trade facilitation, China has become an important node in the global and regional supply chain. the world's second largest market.

  Schwan, CEO of Roche Group, said that the company is committed to making Shanghai the third largest strategic center of the Roche Group in the world after Basel and San Francisco, and will accelerate this process.

  According to a survey by HSBC, 97% of the surveyed companies plan to continue to expand investment in China, because China has a huge market, continuous growth expectations and a complete supply chain system.

  PricewaterhouseCoopers recently released the "2021 Research Report on the Development of Japanese Enterprises in China", showing that Japanese companies in China attach great importance to the Chinese market and are generally satisfied with the operating environment. Large scale of investment in China.

  In November last year, Uniqlo opened its global flagship store in Beijing, its third global flagship store in mainland China.

In this regard, Uniqlo said that China is an important market leading the global economy and consumption trend, and its growth momentum is sufficient.

As of September 2021, Uniqlo has opened more than 850 stores in more than 180 cities in China.

At present, the company has about 30,000 local employees in China, and will continue to increase the number of Chinese employees in the future.

The breadth and depth of market opening continues to increase

  The Chinese market continues to maintain strong attractiveness to foreign investment, which stems from efforts to continuously expand opening up and optimize the business environment.

The 2021 version of the negative lists for foreign investment access in the whole country and in the pilot free trade zone was previously released, and the reduction ratios were 6.1% and 10% respectively. This is the fifth consecutive year that China has reduced this list, which fully reflects China's marketization, rule of law, and internationalization. The business environment has been continuously optimized.

  UBS research shows that China's large and fast-growing market and continuous opening-up will continue to attract foreign capital inflows.

With the adjustment of the global supply chain structure and layout, the role of China's upstream suppliers will be further highlighted.

  In December last year, the Hilton Lanzhou Shengda Hilton Hotel opened.

Qian Jin, the relevant person in charge of Hilton, said that thanks to China's economic stability, the government's favorable policies for the cultural tourism industry, and strong epidemic prevention and control measures, China's domestic tourism market has generally remained stable with some growth.

The Group has always been optimistic about the consumption potential of the Chinese hotel market, and will actively seize the opportunities in the Chinese market to make a comprehensive layout in key regions such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the central and western regions.

  Honeywell was one of the first American companies to enter the Chinese market.

At present, China has become Honeywell's largest single market outside the United States and the company's largest growth market.

Lin Shiwei, a relevant person in charge of Honeywell, believes that Honeywell's development and achievements in the Chinese market are a true portrayal of China's continuous deepening of reforms, adherence to expanding opening up and promoting economic development.

"China is continuously expanding the breadth and depth of market opening, implementing the national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises, stimulating the vitality of market innovation at a deeper level, providing excellent development opportunities for many multinational enterprises including Honeywell, and strengthening our presence in China. Confidence in development." Lin Shiwei said, "The new advantages of China's economy originate from China and benefit the world."

High-quality development brings more benefits

  In 2022, China's foreign direct investment will remain at a high level, with foreign investors paying particular attention to wealth management, new energy, and high-tech industries, Reuters Chinese website quoted a report from KPMG as saying.

The article quoted the person in charge of UBS Securities as saying that the Chinese government is concerned about developing the new economy and promoting sustainable development, which has brought benefits in terms of policies, and the company's various businesses have continued to grow.

  In recent years, Epson's various businesses in China have developed smoothly, and the Chinese market is expected to be one of the fastest growing markets in the next few years.

Epson related person in charge Minghong Fukaishi said that this confidence in the Chinese market stems from the vitality of China's technological innovation.

"Looking at the world, China is a leader in many fields such as software and the Internet." Shen Shi Minghong said that using technology to empower the cultural tourism industry is the development direction of enterprises in China.

  The refrigeration and ice-making project of Hebei Chengde Saihanba National Ice Training Center, the exclusive training venue for the Beijing Winter Olympics, was completed by Panasonic Refrigeration System (Dalian) Co., Ltd.

By recycling the waste heat of the refrigeration system, the company heats the ice layer concrete antifreeze system and ice melting system, saving more than 20% of the annual power consumption.

Tetsuro Honma, global vice president of Panasonic Group, said that the company deeply understands and actively supports China's realization of the "dual carbon" goal. At present, two of the five carbon dioxide zero-emission factories in the world are located in China.

The company strives to share advanced experience with all partners and contribute to the realization of sustainable development.

  Liu Chang, Chairman of the Government Affairs Forum of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said that in recent years, China's innovation ecosystem construction has made remarkable progress.

According to the business confidence survey report released by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in 2021, 72% of the respondents believe that local Chinese companies have strong innovation capabilities, and the excellent innovation fertile ground continues to attract multinational companies to increase their R&D efforts and set up innovative R&D centers in China.

Multinational enterprises will fully consider taking advantage of China's innovation resources, give full play to their technical expertise, base themselves on the Chinese market, and strengthen cooperation with local partners to achieve a win-win situation.

  (This newspaper, Beijing, Brussels, Bangkok, January 27th)