China's economic growth raises international companies' interests

Multinational corporations expressed confidence about China's economic prospect and have strengthened their determination to expand investment in China, as the country achieved positive GDP growth in the first half of the year, with huge market potential and continuously optimizing business environment, People's Daily reported on Tuesday.

Amid increasing stagflation risks across the globe, the world's major economics tended to tighten their fiscal and monetary policies. Faced with a complex international environment, China has maintained stable recovery in its economy and saw its GDP rising 2.5 percent year-on-year in the first half.

Leon Wang, executive vice-president of AstraZeneca, said China's economic achievements are "very exciting".

"Our businesses in China have been keeping a steady growth for many years" according to Wang. "I believe the country will create more development opportunities for multinational companies and AstraZeneca's confidence in the Chinese market never wavers."

Vale SA, a Brazilian giant engaged in metals and mining, has viewed China as its biggest market since 2006, according to Xie Xue, a manager of Vale.

With China's economy gradually rebounding, the green and low-carbon development has been accelerated, Xie said. "We look forward to cooperating with more Chinese iron and steel companies, to build up green and innovative value chains."

A report released by Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in June showed that foreign enterprises saw a steady increase of investment in China, and China remains one of the most important destinations for global investors.

China has also issued a series of policies, by optimizing foreign investment environment, improving government services and enhancing law enforcement, to further facilitate multinational corporations' development in China.

Zhao Bingdi, vice-president of Panasonic China & Northeast Asia Company, said the sales of Panasonic kept a two-digit growth even amid the COVID-19 pandemic challenges, and the strong business performance cannot be achieved without China's policy support to stabilize foreign investment.

For international companies, digital transformation and high-tech industries have become new growth points for investment in recent years.

Economic data in the first half indicated that the added value of China's high-tech manufacturing industry grew 9.6 percent year-on-year, among which computers, communications and other electronic equipment sectors expanded 10.2 percent from a year earlier.

According to a report by global consultancy Accenture last year, the digital transformation of enterprises has injected strong impetus into China's economic recovery in the post-epidemic era.

"Digital transformation and sustainable development are the driving forces for the growth and expansion of Chinese enterprises and are also the 'fast track' for the country to achieve high-quality development," said Liu Tao, the managing director of Accenture Greater China.

As China has been enhancing intellectual property rights protection over recent years, international companies' confidence in the Chinese market has been boosted, and are willing to introduce more cutting-edge technologies to China, said Liu Lijia, vice-president of LafargeHolcim Group, an global industrial company specializing in cement, construction aggregates and concrete.

In 2021, China had filed about 69,500 international patents via PCT (patent cooperation treaty), surging from 18,000 in 2012, ranking first in the world for three consecutive years.