MNCs feeling buoyant about China in 2022

Chen Yudong, president of Bosch China

A1 In 2021, along with the new normal of COVID-19 prevention and control, we have seen active and effective countermeasures taken by local governments at all levels in China. At the Central Economic Work Conference in early December, authorities proposed various policies to achieve growth targets and emphasized "stability at the forefront", giving us confidence in the long-term, stable and positive development of the Chinese economy.

A2 Due to COVID-19 disruption, 2021 was difficult for Bosch China. Yet thanks to strong recovery and development of the China market, especially in automotive, manufacturing and home appliance industries, together with the joint efforts of all employees, Bosch China achieved record high sales revenue. With this result, we still see China a major growth driver for the Bosch Group in 2021.

In the field of electrification, led by "3060" carbon goals, we view China as one of the most promising new energy markets in the world in terms of growth potential.

A3 Since the introduction of the new "Foreign Investment Law" in 2020, foreign investors can also enjoy equal treatment with domestic counterparts. This year, we are pleased to see the reduction of the negative list for the fifth consecutive year, as well as more emerging industries in the encouraged directory, including the further liberalization of foreign shareholding in passenger car companies, which brings more investment opportunities in the automotive industry.

At the same time, we also expect the business environment to be further improved, including strengthening intellectual property protection and regulating unhealthy expansion of capital.

A4 As we can see, compared with developed countries, the mission for China is more challenging, in terms of the amount of emission reductions and the short time frame left for the country. As a manufacturing company, Bosch would like to start as a role model and call on the industry to start with its own carbon footprint analysis, and gradually reduce carbon emissions following a targeted plan.

A5 We see that the Chinese market is still a huge market that continues to develop steadily. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) proposes to continuously expand the middle-income group, which means that both the current and incremental markets for consumer goods that are closely related to people's living standards hold great potential.

Bosch expects that long-term policy guidance will bring stable expectations and confidence to foreign investment. For Bosch, China has always been one of the most important markets.