China's magnetism for attracting foreign investment continues
A year-on-year increase of 25.6% - According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce recently, in the first quarter, the actual use of foreign capital in the country reached 379.87 billion yuan, achieving "stable door opening".
On top of the record high base of China's investment scale last year, coupled with the recent spread of the epidemic in many places in China, such a hard-won result once again confirms that foreign investors have confidence in investing in China.
A number of heads of foreign-funded enterprises said that the sound fundamentals of China's economy and a rich policy toolbox have given enterprises the confidence to continue to deepen the Chinese market and increase their business layout.
Looking ahead, China remains the main "safe haven" for global investors.
Higher quality and more balanced use of foreign capital
Recently, in response to the epidemic in some areas, BSH started a closed-loop production management model in some factories, and resumed work and production in an orderly manner.
"With the strong support and coordination of relevant government departments, we have obtained vehicle passes, implemented closed-loop management of truck drivers, and made every effort to ensure the stable operation of the supply chain, ensuring continuous business operations and timely delivery of orders." The person in charge of BSH Home Appliances told me Reporter, in fiscal year 2021, BSH's revenue in the Chinese market increased by 17%, helping the group's revenue performance reach a new high.
"The Chinese market is the largest market for BSH's revenue in Asia and Africa," said the person in charge.
"The uncertainty of the epidemic has brought us huge challenges, but Diageo has confidence in China's victory over the epidemic and the sustainable development of the company." Ai Enhua, managing director of Diageo China, told reporters that the company actively participated in the prevention and control of the epidemic. In the work, while paying attention to the health of employees, we strive to promote the development of the industry.
"Diageo has been working in the Chinese market for 20 years and has achieved steady growth in its local business. In the past five years, China has developed into one of the three strategic markets of Diageo Group in the world," said Ian Hua.
Continuing to deepen and increase investment, the dazzling data of China's utilization of foreign capital in the first quarter of this year is a true portrayal of the confidence of foreign companies such as BSH in the Chinese market.
Not only is the total amount of foreign capital utilized growing, but the structure is also being optimized, with higher quality and more balanced.
Hong Junjie, vice president of the University of International Business and Economics, analyzed this reporter that the rapid growth of foreign investment in high-tech industries is a distinctive feature of China's current use of foreign capital.
Data show that in the first quarter, the actual use of foreign capital in China's high-tech industries was 132.83 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 52.9%.
Among them, the high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 35.7%, and the high-tech service industry increased by 57.8%.
"This shows that under the background of China's construction of an innovative country and the self-reliance of science and technology, the domestic high-tech industry has a strong attraction to foreign investment." Hong Junjie said.
From a regional perspective, investment in the central region has grown rapidly.
In the first quarter, the actual use of foreign capital in the eastern, central and western regions of China increased by 23.4%, 60.7% and 21.9% year-on-year respectively, and 21 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country achieved double-digit growth in actual use of foreign capital.
"In the past, the eastern region attracted more foreign capital, but now the central region, especially some provincial capital cities, has a high level of economic activity and is increasingly attractive to foreign investment." Hong Junjie said, "This is a very positive signal, indicating that China The echelon development in the regions attracting investment is more balanced and has huge potential.”
"It is worth noting that the use of foreign capital in the first quarter still achieved high double-digit growth on top of last year's high base. As the global economy suffered from external shocks such as de-globalization, the epidemic of the century, and geopolitical conflicts, superimposed The recent impact of the domestic epidemic has made this achievement particularly difficult." Hong Junjie believes, "This reflects that China's economic fundamentals are still improving, the market is relatively stable, and foreign investors are optimistic about the growth of the Chinese market, China's long-term stable economic prospects and market potential. ."
"These measures strengthen our confidence in continuing to invest in China"
During the interview, the reporter found that although the epidemic has affected the production and operation of foreign-funded enterprises in some areas, many foreign-funded enterprises still insist on developing in China.
Where does this attraction come from?
The sound fundamentals have strengthened the determination of foreign-funded enterprises to deepen their cultivation in China.
"This year, China's economic growth target is set at about 5.5%, which is still far higher than the possible growth rate of major economies. The fundamentals of China's overall economic development are good, which makes foreign companies more confident in their development in China." Hong Junjie believes that , China's epidemic prevention and control measures have been effective, and it has also given foreign-funded enterprises a better guarantee for production and operation.
High-tech industries have spawned new growth points and opened up broader market prospects for foreign-funded enterprises.
"Invest another 100 million yuan this year!" A relevant person in charge of Germany's Kach told this reporter that in the context of various uncertainties in the global economy, Kach's business in the Chinese market still achieved rapid growth.
"Based on this, we will build the world's first high-tech R&D center in the core area of Suzhou Industrial Park to further take root in China." The person in charge said that R&D and innovation are the driving force for Kach to achieve sustainable development, and it is also the driving force behind its development in China in recent years. the focus of development.
Covering an area of 13,000 square meters, the global R&D center focusing on big data and artificial intelligence is not only another exploration of Kacher's new growth model, but also the best proof of its confidence in the Chinese economy and market.
The escalating domestic consumption demand has enhanced the attractiveness for foreign investment.
A few days ago, Tyson Foods, a global meat company giant, has launched a number of innovative lo-mei snacks for the Chinese market.
The person in charge of the company said that with its innovative production methods and unique taste, this series of new products has won the favor of consumers, and the sales are very considerable.
"Chinese consumers expect a greater variety of high-quality goods, which provides us with a lot of market opportunities."
The continuously improving business environment has released more policy dividends for foreign companies.
"In recent years, the implementation of a series of preferential policies for enterprises such as tax incentives and the continuous strengthening of intellectual property protection have made us clearly feel that China's business environment is constantly improving." The relevant person in charge of Germany Kach said that with the Internet technology In the development of government affairs, in the face of repeated epidemics, the "no-meeting approval" model implemented by government departments has broken through the limitations of time and space, liberated human and material resources, and provided great convenience for enterprises.
"These measures have strengthened our determination to continue investing in China," the official said.
Ye Lin, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, told this reporter that since last year, China has launched a series of policies to stabilize foreign investment, including further reducing the negative list for foreign investment access, and continuously optimizing the business environment. attractiveness of foreign capital.
The "New Progress Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Business Environment in China (2021)" released recently shows that in 2021, foreign applicants will obtain 110,000 invention patent authorizations in China, a year-on-year increase of 23%; trademark registrations will reach 194,000, a year-on-year increase. 5.2%.
"China has been one of the 10 economies with the largest improvement in the global business environment for two consecutive years, which shows that our achievements in this area are obvious to all, and it is also the confidence of foreign companies who dare to come and are willing to come to China." Ye Lin said .
"Building the Future with Chinese Industrial Partners"
Recently, domestic epidemics have occurred frequently, and the global economic situation is still uncertain. Some foreign-funded enterprises have also been affected. Some enterprises have encountered certain obstacles in cross-regional and cross-border personnel flow, and some enterprises have encountered difficulties in capital and logistics.
Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shu Jueting said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to this. Under the foreign trade and foreign investment coordination mechanism, a special class for key foreign investment projects has been established. In particular, help foreign-funded enterprises in key areas of the epidemic to coordinate and solve specific problems such as resumption of work and production, personnel entry, logistics and transportation.
All localities are also doing everything possible to take advantage of the situation to "stabilize foreign investment".
The way foreign businessmen negotiate and meet offline has been blocked. Shandong innovated the way of investment promotion, created a series of activities of "connecting Shandong and the world's top 500", attracting investment "continuously" and service enterprises "continuously connecting". In the first two months of this year, Shandong actually used Foreign capital was 3.29 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 45.6%.
Zhejiang carries out precise investment in the industrial chain, attracting "strong" and attracting investment simultaneously to attract high-quality foreign investment projects. Among them, Johnson & Johnson's "Ophthalmology Innovation Chain" project, which has landed in Wenzhou, is attracting relevant ophthalmology industries to settle down; The regional headquarters of STRIKEN will attract a group of pharmaceutical industry related companies.
Guangdong Province encourages financial institutions to actively meet the needs of foreign-funded enterprises and improve the level of cross-border financial services for foreign-funded enterprises. Since 2021, eight banking institutions including China Development Bank have issued loans of more than 300 billion yuan to key foreign-funded enterprises (projects) in Guangdong. In January, the actual utilization of foreign capital in Guangdong's manufacturing and high-tech industries increased rapidly, up 68.4% and 55.6% year-on-year respectively.
Foreign-funded enterprises generally have good expectations for the Chinese market, saying that they will continue to increase their investment in China.
The person in charge of BSH is full of confidence in the resilience of the Chinese economy and the future of the Chinese market.
"With China's continuous promotion of comprehensive and deepening reforms to advance in breadth and depth, we deeply feel that China's investment environment is becoming more and more liberal, more and more fields are open to foreign investment, and favorable policies and regulations are continuously introduced." The responsible person People say.
"China is in a critical period of low-carbon transformation, and digital transformation is accelerating. How to achieve transformation and upgrading and sustainable development at the same time has become a 'must answer' for enterprises, which is Schneider Electric's mission and technical expertise." Schneider Electric Yin Zheng, global executive vice president and president of China, told reporters, "We will continue to strengthen our layout in China. In the future, we will continue to strengthen our green innovation capabilities by relying on the global green design center in China, and build together with Chinese industry partners. sustainable future."
Kong Dechen