Multinational firms hail China's global role

Backing for globalization, innovation wins applause from forum attendees

Top executives of multinational companies attending the Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou are optimistic regarding China's rising role as a strong advocate for globalization and innovation in international trade.

"We were inspired and encouraged by President Xi Jinping's comments today," said Rogier Janssens, managing director and general manager of Biopharma, Merck China.

"The Chinese government's resolve to promote openness and innovation will bring a significant and positive impact to the world economy, and we see great opportunity and a dynamic environment driven by the local excellence in execution in China as the country becomes an increasingly global player."

Openness and innovation dominates the agenda of this year's Fortune Global Forum held in Guangzhou from Dec 6 to 8, with top executives of the world's largest companies gathering in the southern Chinese city.

The concept also coincides with the key messages from the report delivered by Xi at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October. The report stressed that openness and innovation are among the keys for China to achieve successful economic transition and sustainable growth.

Frank-Jurgen Richter, founder and chairman of Horasis, said that he believed China would lead global innovation with more and more Chinese companies coming to the forefront.

"We see protectionism rising all around the world, but China is defending globalization and China is part of the globalization," he said.

Foreign participants at the forum also expressed their optimism over China's continuous efforts in openness.

Xi's congratulatory letter to the forum indicates China will adhere to its reform and opening up policies to promote globalization in the years to come, said Andrew Robb, former Australian trade minister.

China's opening up drive, plus a strong central government leadership, will ensure China's economy continues to enjoy sustainable growth in the following years, Robb said.

"We are happy to see the ambition of China to strengthen global partnership through further opening-up and innovation," said Borje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson.

"As a world leader in communications technology and services, Ericsson is looking forward to discussing with the Chinese government and business leaders on how mobility can enable everyone, every business and every industry."

Wang Yanfei, Zheng Caixiong, Zhong Nan and Ma Si contributed to this story.