Foreign firms ride strong growth arc

Beyond industrial infrastructure, China's human capital landscape, as highlighted by Wang, is undergoing a fundamental evolution — the country now possesses the world's largest pool of scientists and engineers, with its full-time equivalent of R&D personnel ranking first globally.

The combination of market scale, industrial depth, and talent density ensures that China remains a central consideration in multinationals' strategies, global business leaders said.

"Structural innovation and ongoing upgrades in the Chinese market are leading multinational companies to reassess their strategies in China," said Michael Jiang, head of clients and markets at KPMG in China.

Companies are investing in local innovation and digital transformation to enhance operational efficiency, optimize pricing, improve profit margins, and build strategic competitiveness in the Chinese market, he added.

Some 75 percent of multinational companies planned to maintain or increase their China investment in 2025. A total of 83 percent have already localized or plan to localize key aspects of their China operations, especially manufacturing, supply chains and R&D, according to KPMG's 2025 MNC China Outlook Report in December.

AstraZeneca announced in late January that it will invest more than 100 billion yuan ($14.39 billion) in China by 2030 as the drugmaker increasingly sees China as central to global pharmaceutical innovation.

"We have been very committed to China for many years," said Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca. "In the last five or six years, China has become a fundamental part of innovation in our sector, with great science and increasingly strong companies."

Under the plan, AstraZeneca will expand pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D in China through 2030, leveraging the country's scientific research strengths, advanced manufacturing capabilities and growing biotechnology ecosystem.

China's emergence as a global innovation hub has fundamentally altered the calculus for multinationals like AstraZeneca. No longer content to simply manufacture in China for export, a growing number of foreign companies are establishing R&D centers, partnering with local tech companies, and co-developing products tailored to Chinese consumer preferences.

"The quality of engineering talent, the speed of digital adoption, and the willingness of Chinese consumers to embrace new technologies create an innovation ecosystem that is difficult to replicate elsewhere," said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.