Inviting policies whet investment appetites

China's continuously optimized business environment is boosting its attractiveness among foreign enterprises operating in the country, and they are indicating a higher willingness to increase investments in China, trade promotion officials said on Friday.

According to a report by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, among more than 400 foreign companies operating in the nation polled in the fourth quarter, over 30 percent said they had netted higher investment profits in China last year, with nearly 20 percent having already increased investment in the world's second-largest economy.

Among surveyed foreign companies, 50.3 percent come from traditional manufacturing sectors, 67 percent are small and micro-sized businesses, and 87 percent hail from developed countries and regions, the CCPIT said.

Nearly half of the foreign companies surveyed expect an increase in investment profits in China in the next five years. In particular, nearly 50 percent of European companies and nearly 40 percent of US firms anticipate higher investment profits over the next five-year period, the report found.

"Overall, over 80 percent of surveyed foreign enterprises rated China's business environment as satisfactory or above, and they continue to hold a positive outlook on the Chinese market," Yang Fan, a spokeswoman for the CCPIT, said during a news conference in Beijing.

Meanwhile, a number of consulting agencies and foreign business associations recently released survey reports or outlooks for foreign companies' operations in China.

A business confidence report by the German Chamber of Commerce in China polled 546 German firms operating in China. It found that 61 percent of surveyed companies plan to invest in new factories or equipment, and 50 percent plan to invest in research and development as well as innovation.

German companies said that investing in China for the long term is due to the huge size of the Chinese market, alongside its vitality, talent reserves, complete industrial chain and well-developed infrastructure, the report said.

"All of these findings fully proved that China is still a hot spot for foreign investment and development," Yang said.

In addition, China and the United States have strengthened their cooperation in the exhibition sector. Senior executives in the sector from both sides had their first conversation in the past few years in January, and they reached a consensus on strengthening cooperation.

In 2024, a total of 5,639 Chinese companies participated in exhibitions in the US, up 51.5 percent year-on-year, Yang said, adding that in the rankings of China's overseas exhibition projects by country, Germany, the US, Russia, Japan and the United Arab Emirates were listed as the top five destinations.

US companies have also been enthusiastic about participating in exhibitions in China. During the second China International Supply Chain Expo held in Beijing late last year, the largest number of overseas exhibitors came from the US, with Tesla, Apple, Qualcomm, HP and other Fortune 500 companies from the US participating in the event.

China has been strengthening policy support to bolster foreign trade and investment and spared no effort to promote a higher level of opening-up to the outside world in the past few years.

"China has actively benchmarked international advanced standards and showed great sincerity to embrace the world," said Fu Yifu, a researcher at the Star Atlas Institute of Finance.

"Compared with many other countries, the political, economic and social environment in China is stable. Facing increasing downward pressure of the global economy, China maintained steady economic growth, and its GDP growth reached 5 percent in 2024, indicating that the Chinese economy is highly resilient," Fu said.

In 2024, 59,080 foreign enterprises were newly established in China, up 9.9 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

In terms of the investment source, actual investment in China from Spain, Singapore, Germany and Switzerland increased by 130.8 percent, 10.8 percent, 2.2 percent and 1 percent on a yearly basis, respectively, it added.

Cruise line operator Viking Cruises, with its operating headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, said 2024 marked a pivotal year for the company in China, and moving forward, it plans to continue to further explore the Chinese market, providing tailored services to meet the needs of Chinese consumers.

"We aim to inject greater vitality and possibilities into the development of China's cruise market," said Brendan Tansey, managing director of Viking Cruises China.