Xi lauds foreign firms' input

President Xi Jinping on Monday reassured a group of foreign multinational executives from the United States, Europe, Asia and South America that China is committed to advancing reform and opening-up, saying that investing in China is investing in the future.

Xi made the remarks when meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing with more than 40 representatives of the international business community.

The meeting was the latest in a series of interactions between high-level Chinese officials and global CEOs over the past week, following the China Development Forum in Beijing and the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025, which concluded in Hainan province on Friday.

"I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the foreign enterprises that have participated in and supported China's development," Xi told the executives, whose businesses cover areas such as science and technology, manufacturing and energy.

According to official statistics, by the end of last year, nearly 1.24 million foreign-funded companies had been established in China, with paidin foreign capital reaching 20.6 trillion yuan ($2.84 trillion).

Last year alone, some 60,000 foreign-invested companies were newly established in China, up 9.9 percent year-on-year.

Xi said that facts have proven that foreign-invested enterprises are important participants in China's modernization drive, key players in China's reform, opening-up and innovation, as well as crucial participants in connecting China with the world and involving the country in economic globalization.

Throughout the process, foreign firms have in general received substantial returns, developed themselves, realized mutual benefits and win-win results, and also formed deep friendships with the Chinese people, he said.

Noting that opening-up is China's fundamental policy, Xi told the business leaders that China is promoting high-standard opening-up and steadily expanding institutional opening-up with regard to rules, regulations, management and standards.

China's door of opening-up will only open wider and wider, and the policy of utilizing foreign investment has not changed and will not change, he said.

Xi said that, as the country is committed to high-quality development and accelerating green, digital and intelligent transformation, and has a strong industrial support capacity, China can provide the best testing ground for the latest outcomes of the technological revolution and industrial transformation.

Highlighting that China is the world's second-largest consumer market and has the world's largest middle-income population, Xi said that China contains huge potential for investment and consumption.

In July last year, the Communist Party of China held the third plenary session of its 20th Central Committee, laying out the roadmap and timetable for further reforming the management systems for inward and outward investment.

Last month, China issued the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, putting forward 20 new measures on expanding self-initiated opening-up in an orderly manner and boosting foreign investment.

China will further expand its opening-up by focusing on lowering the market entry threshold, Xi said, vowing to ensure a level playing field for foreign firms in China and to provide convenience and legitimate guarantees for foreign investment in the country.

At the same time, China will unswervingly pursue a path of peaceful development and strive to create an enabling environment for foreign businesses, he added.

Xi said that China has been and will remain an ideal, safe and promising investment destination for foreign businesses. Partnering with China will bring more opportunities. Believing in China is believing in tomorrow. Investing in China is investing in the future, he added.

Friday's meeting came against the backdrop of global economic fragmentation and rising uncertainties, and China has repeatedly expressed firm opposition to unilateralism and protectionism. Over the past weeks, the new US administration has adopted an increasingly protectionist trade policy by imposing various rounds of tariffs on other countries.

Xi told the business leaders on Friday that multilateralism is the inevitable choice for addressing difficulties and challenges facing the world, and economic globalization is an unstoppable historical trend.

Foreign enterprises, especially multinational corporations, play a crucial role and bear significant responsibilities in maintaining the global economic order, Xi said.

He stressed the need to work together to uphold the multilateral trading system, maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and preserve an open and cooperative international environment, guiding economic globalization in the right direction.

Executives of FedEx, Mercedes-Benz, Sanofi, HSBC Holdings, Hitachi, SK Hynix and Saudi Aramco were among the global CEOs who attended the meeting.

Ola Kallenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said the meeting showed that the "Chinese government addresses great importance on advancing high-level opening-up, its role in stabilizing the global economy and the foreign companies that invest in China, which is very encouraging".

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of our R&D and production in China, we will continue to invest in China, create and share the development opportunities in the China market," he added.

Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi, expressed at the meeting his sincere appreciation to the Chinese government for the commitment to deepening reform and openingup as well as for fostering an environment that supports innovation and long-term investment.

"China, under your strong leadership, continues to be a key driver of global economic growth with continued dialogue, mutual trust and expanding collaboration. We are confident that China will remain a premier global investment destination," Hudson told Xi.

FedEx President and CEO Raj Subramaniam said that foreign private enterprises like FedEx will continue to play a role in "building bridges", that is, people-to-people ties that cut across politics and serve the interests of humanity.

Cao Desheng contributed to this story.