Cooperation trumps competition for win-win
Foreign, domestic companies find new ways to shine together as market dynamics change
With the government creating more favorable conditions to promote high-standard opening-up and improve business environment, sustaining such openness will prove a win-win for homegrown companies as well as MNCs, Chen said.
China's high-tech industries attracted 423.34 billion yuan in FDI last year, accounting for more than 37 percent of the country's total utilized FDI, Commerce Ministry data showed.
Although overall FDI in China plummeted in 2023, that from certain countries rose. France's FDI in China rose 84 percent year-on-year, the United Kingdom's jumped 81 percent, the Netherlands' rose 31.5 percent, Switzerland's increased by more than 21 percent and Australia's by 17 percent.
With the global economic landscape showing signs of finding stability against odds, there is high chance still for overall FDI in China to rise, both in terms of scale and composition. This transformation is anticipated to be driven by continuous enhancements in China's business environment, said Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, which is part of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
He emphasized that the growing recognition of China's vast market and its robust industrial networks will likely play a pivotal role in refining foreign investment strategies. Technology-intensive green products will notably shape MNCs' investment focus in the years ahead and contribute to China's exports.
Echoing that sentiment, Yin Zheng, executive vice-president of China and East Asia operations, Schneider Electric SE, a French MNC specializing in energy management, said the company will keep strengthening its "China Hub "strategy in all aspects, including talent, innovation, supply chain and ecosystem this year.
"As China has intensified its focus on high-quality development and embraced the 'dual carbon goals' in recent years, there has been a notable increase in demand from Chinese consumers for digital solutions and environmentally friendly products," he said.
