Foreign investors upbeat on innovation

Dozens of ice resurfacers and snowmaking machines produced by TechnoAlpin were recently transported from its logistics and warehousing center in Hebei province to ice and snow venues around the world.

"This year, TechnoAlpin will continue to focus on the Chinese market, increase investment in technology, and promote the manufacturing of ice and snowmaking equipment," said Shen Yumei, marketing manager of TechnoAlpin China. TechnoAlpin is a leading supplier of snowmaking equipment headquartered in Italy.

With greater consumption and improvement of the industry, winter sports are no longer limited to the winter season only.

"The demand for ice and snow equipment from customers is developing toward greater efficiency, environmental protection and intelligence, which prompts us to increase our research and development efforts and extend our product lines," Shen added.

Accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, promoting high-quality development, and shaping new drivers of economic development, China not only provides new opportunities for the optimization of its domestic industrial layout, but also provides new opportunities for the development of foreign-funded enterprises in China, strengthening their confidence in investment and development.

Data released by the Ministry of Commerce shows that there were 7,160 newly established foreign-invested enterprises in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 34.9 percent. The actual use of foreign investment in high-tech manufacturing reached 28.27 billion yuan ($4 billion), a year-on-year increase of 10.1 percent.

A new joint venture set up by Mercedes-Benz Group China and BMW Brilliance Automotive has been registered recently in Beijing's Chaoyang district recently. By the end of 2026, the new JV is expected to have set up at least 1,000 supercharging stations equipped with cutting-edge technologies across China, with some 7,000 high-power charging piles.

"In 2024, we will introduce over 15 all-new and new-generation products covering various drive modes and product matrices. With a robust product lineup and unparalleled customer experiences, we aim to consistently fulfill the desire of Chinese customers for the Mercedes-Benz brand," said Oliver Britz, executive vice-president of sales at Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Services.

Zhuang Rui, executive dean of the Institute of International Economy at the University of International Business and Economics, said that China's efforts to transform and upgrade traditional industries, and promote their development towards high-end, intelligent and green directions, will further expand China's market space, stimulate new economic growth points and provide new market opportunities for the development of foreign-funded enterprises in China.

At present, Beijing is accelerating science and technology innovation and the development of the digital economy, which provides broad space for deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and other countries.

CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyungshik said that he is willing to expand cooperation with Chinese enterprises, relevant institutions and others in high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence and big data, to seize opportunities in China's development.

According to relevant personnel from the National Development and Reform Commission, foreign-funded enterprises investing in the green economy, the digital economy and health industry projects can enjoy services including a special task team, green channels and accelerated implementation of projects.

Park Soong Chan, head of the Northeast Asia Economic Association of Korea, said that developing new quality productive forces means achieving new breakthroughs in technological innovation, production efficiency, quality improvement, and many other aspects.

China has introduced many favorable policies, focusing on stabilizing market expectations and strengthening market confidence, which have released positive signals for the medium and long-term development of the Chinese economy, and created promising development prospects for foreign-funded enterprises in the country, Park added.