Foreign execs bullish on 2023 business climate

Q5 As China continues to pursue high-quality development along a Chinese path to modernization, what is your vision for your company's business in the country? What business opportunities do you foresee emerging as part of this process?

CHAN: China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) on modern logistics released in December 2022 highlighted the significance of the logistics sector in supporting China's high-quality development. In this context, FedEx will continue to optimize our network to improve logistics efficiency and support the stability of the industrial and supply chains. We look forward to contributing in the areas of logistics and transportation, technology and sustainability, and ultimately working together with all parties to create opportunities to connect China with the world.

LIU: Driven by favorable national policies such as rural revitalization, boosting health-related industries and investment in new infrastructure, the entire healthcare industry will move towards higher-quality development. With the continuous deepening of the localization strategy, Carestream Health will continue to deeply blend into the Chinese healthcare innovation ecosystem with "Made in China" and "Innovated in China".

In the future, our innovative technologies will help imaging centers around the country to provide high-quality healthcare services for patients, improve efficiency and reduce costs.

YE: China's development aspirations are in line with Michelin's long-term efforts. Michelin is devoted to developing products and solutions that meet the needs of Chinese consumers, to achieve sustainable development with the industry and the whole society. During this journey, we must capture two major opportunities — circular economy and disruptive technology.

First, circular economy — opportunities lie in global common visions to lower carbon emissions, promote clean energy and improve biodiversity. This will prompt foreign companies in China to align growth strategies toward sustainability.

Second, disruptive technology, particularly smart digital solutions — in China, we see more cities and companies gearing up for the deployment of smart mobility.

TAN: In China, the sports industry is accelerating structural upgrading and maintaining sustainable development. With the resilient growth of China's economy, new growth dynamics will continue to emerge with huge market potential, new consumer demands and emerging trends.

We are noticing a growing consumer preference for sustainable products. Digital transformation and online and offline integration are also vital to grow our business in China. We have invested 3 billion yuan ($435.6 million) in a project in Fenggang town, Dongguan, Guangdong province, integrating innovation, manufacturing, warehousing, digitalization and other elements of the whole industry chain to form a functional regional headquarters for Skechers, further promoting the intelligent upgrading of the front and back ends.

XU: Green and low-carbon economic transformation is a key part of China's high-quality development. The role of energy efficiency solutions is to help improve development quality, which is a perfect match with China's priorities. With China's dedication to green growth, we remain hopeful that our energy efficiency business in China will keep growing and we have made ambitious growth plans in China that we are very confident to achieve.