Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 14 (International Watch) Global multinational companies: Decoupling with China will not work
Xinhua News Agency reporter
Recently, the head of a British industry organization claimed that "British companies are cutting off economic ties with China on a large scale."
However, a survey by the British Chamber of Commerce in China clearly shows that British businesses are generally optimistic about the Chinese market.
British "Daily Telegraph" commentator Jeremy Warner warned that decoupling from China will pay a heavy price.
Globally, many multinational companies generally believe that China has huge market potential, significant supply chain advantages, and a firm pace of expansion and opening up. It is an indispensable part of economic globalization, and decoupling from China will not work.
Close to the Chinese market is the general trend
A number of European multinational companies have recently released their first-half earnings reports.
European automakers such as Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have performed well in China. British fast-moving consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser, German chemical giant BASF, and French beauty giant L'Oreal have also performed well.
Affected by the unfavorable factors such as repeated COVID-19 epidemics, supply chain blockages, and rising energy prices, multinational companies have seen strong sales growth, steady progress in investment, and rapid business expansion in China.
As the world's largest trader of goods and the second largest consumer market, China imports about 2.5 trillion US dollars of goods and services every year, and is a fertile ground for many multinational companies.
Being close to the Chinese market is the main line of their business strategy.
Taking the automobile industry as an example, with the continuous upgrading of China's automobile market, more and more international automobile brands regard China as the most important market in the world.
New energy, intelligence and networking, which represent the future development direction of the auto industry, are developing rapidly in China, attracting international auto industry giants to increase innovation and R&D efforts. China is becoming the innovation center of the global auto industry.
"If you're not in China, if you can't keep up with China's speed, I doubt you can become a leading automaker in the next five to 10 years," said Feng Sihan, former CEO of Volkswagen Group (China). China is "the source of power to lead the development trend of the next generation of automobiles".
World-renowned economist Geoffrey Sachs believes that China is full of vitality, and the idea of "decoupling from China" is "sad" and "misleading" and will only become more and more isolated in the world.
The International Monetary Fund's first deputy managing director, Gita Gopinath, believes that some "decoupling" trends will cost global growth dearly.
She pointed out that China is an important engine of the world economy, and an open China is of great significance to global trade and the growth prospects of the rest of the world.
Deeply cultivating Chinese industry is the aspiration of the people
The resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy have attracted worldwide attention.
With the help of new technology trends such as digital technology, new energy, artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and big data, China is becoming a gathering place for new technologies, new products and new models, and its industrial advantages have attracted the attention of the world.
Lu Yaoqun, director of the Institute of Governance and Sustainable Development of the National University of Singapore Business School, pointed out that China is a key node in the global supply chain and innovation network, and cooperation with China is the direction of the world economy.
On the basis of inherent advantages such as complete industrial categories and perfect infrastructure, China's integration into the global industrial chain has continued to deepen, and more and more Chinese and foreign enterprises have cooperated deeply and competed on the same stage.
Ford Motor and CATL have established a global strategic partnership, covering power battery supply in China, Europe and North America; auto parts manufacturer ZF Group has nearly 40 manufacturing plants in China and its fourth R&D center in China this year The first half of the year broke ground; the biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca’s Global R&D China Center settled in Jing’an District, Shanghai, and will be deeply involved in global new drug research and development... These multinational companies have increased their investment in China, and invariably regard China as their strategic focus, intending to make full use of China’s supply Chain advantage, enhance the global competitiveness of enterprises.
"International car companies want us to intervene in the model planning stage. The two sides jointly plan products, and the efficiency of technical integration is greatly improved." Wu Kai, chief scientist of CATL, said that Chinese companies and international car companies learn from each other through cooperation, which is conducive to technological innovation. Product iteration to jointly promote the electrification transformation of the automotive industry.
Sharing China's dividend is a global opportunity
In the era of economic globalization, openness and integration are an irresistible historical trend.
Build a high-standard market system, deepen the market-oriented reform of factors, continue to relax foreign investment access, continuously optimize the business environment, and strengthen intellectual property protection... As a major trading partner of more than 120 countries and regions around the world, China embraces the world with open arms and continues to Release the dividends of opening up, and promote the communication between Chinese and foreign markets and the integration of industries.
Through the establishment of national-level exhibition platforms such as the China International Import Expo and the Consumer Expo, the vitality of the Chinese market has been fully demonstrated, which has effectively promoted the connection of domestic and foreign products and services, and provided rare cooperation opportunities for Chinese and foreign enterprises.
In the first half of this year, multinational companies continued to be optimistic about China's economic prospects, and news of increased investment in China kept coming.
Audi FAW New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony. Volkswagen's Anhui MEB plant is basically ready, and the pre-production vehicles will be rolled off the production line in the second half of the year.
Recent reports from the American Chamber of Commerce in China and the German Chamber of Commerce in China show that over 60% of US-funded companies and over 70% of German-funded companies plan to increase investment in China.
Beide Nian, President of Novartis Group (China), one of the world's top 500 companies, praised the opening, potential and business opportunities of the Chinese market, saying that China is one of the most strategic markets for Novartis in the world.
A big emerging market country full of opportunities, a big innovative country with surging development momentum, and an open big country open to the world, brings endless opportunities to all countries in the world.