Proactive policy helps woo foreign investors

Despite operating in different industry sectors, several multinational corporations — such as Germany's Siemens AG, Tapestry Inc of the United States and Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co — share a common goal of stepping up investment in China's high-tech and supply chain sectors to stay competitive.

Their top executives, who attended the China Development Forum 2025 in Beijing in March, noted that the Chinese government's proactive efforts — from expanding domestic demand to fostering emerging and future industries, and deepening international cooperation through greater openness — are sending out strong signals and continuously boosting the confidence of foreign businesses in the Chinese market, despite rising global trade protectionism, unilateralism and geopolitical tensions.

One such company is Mercedes-Benz.

The German automotive group will begin producing the long-wheelbase electric CLA, a compact luxury model, in China this year, followed by the long-wheelbase GLE SUV and an all-new electric van in the coming years.

Ola Kaellenius, chairman of the board of management at Mercedes-Benz, said the company has made significant strides in research and development in China. Powered by its innovation centers in Beijing and Shanghai and supported by 2,000 local experts, the group has advanced its development of connectivity, digitalization, autonomous driving features and electric vehicle transformation.

"Just like other European automotive companies, we have been among the biggest foreign beneficiaries of China's rapid economic growth," said Kaellenius.

"At the same time, our industry has been one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment in China. There is a strong interdependence between China and the European Union. Both sides want to protect jobs in their home markets while reaping the benefits of free international trade," he added.

Noting that China's growing focus on boosting domestic consumption is giving global companies greater confidence to invest in the world's second-largest economy, Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO of Tapestry, said the company is keen to contribute to the country's consumption upgrade and expansion by bringing more innovative products to this market.

Tapestry is a New York-based luxury goods maker and the parent company of brands like Coach and Kate Spade.

"China is our largest market outside the US, and it is a major source of inspiration for us globally. Many of the innovations we develop here — through partnerships with Chinese companies to serve Chinese consumers — are later introduced to other markets around the world," Crevoiserat said.

The company, she added, is on track to achieve its goal of opening 100 stores in China between 2022 and 2025, with the milestone set to be reached by the end of this year.

"In addition to investing in physical stores, or brick-and-mortar retail, we will also invest in digital, particularly with the advancements in the Chinese market, as local consumers are fairly digitally engaged," she said. "So, we have been making investments into our digital capabilities and meeting the consumer demand in an omnichannel way."

Christophe Weber, president, CEO and representative director of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, expressed a similar opinion.

Takeda will make targeted investments in data and digital solutions in China to unleash the power of new technology for the future of healthcare, he said.

In January, the Japanese company announced the signing of an investment cooperation agreement to establish its China innovation center in Chengdu, Sichuan province. The new facility will focus on digital healthcare innovation and leverage big data and artificial intelligence technologies to develop solutions.

Eager to stabilize its appeal to global investors in 2025, China will further open up internet-related, cultural and other sectors in a well-regulated manner and expand pilot programs to open fields such as telecommunications, medical services and education, according to this year's Government Work Report.

The country will encourage foreign investors to increase reinvestment and support collaboration among upstream and downstream enterprises along industrial chains.

The report said national treatment will be ensured for foreign-funded enterprises in areas such as access to production factors, licensing, standards setting and government procurement.

Sang Baichuan, dean of the University of International Business and Economics' Institute of International Economy in Beijing, said that China enjoys a stable political, economic and social environment when compared to several other countries.

Amid mounting global economic headwinds, China's steadfast commitment to opening-up, backed by consistent government support and a more level playing field, is encouraging, Sang said.

As China's innovation capabilities grow, foreign investors are increasingly shifting from "a manufacturingonly focus to collaborative research and development", he added.

Noting that high-tech, high-efficiency and high-quality growth have become key drivers of China's economic transformation, aligning with its focus on new quality productive forces, Roland Busch, president and CEO of Siemens AG, said the country has made rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.

First introduced in 2023, new quality productive forces refer to advanced productivity freed from the traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths.

Busch said innovations such as the open-source foundational model R1 by Chinese AI startup Deep-Seek are examples of how "China surprises us with innovations".

This momentum is not limited to the private sector.

China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises, such as State Grid Corp of China and China Mobile Ltd, have deployed AI technologies across more than 500 scenarios in key sectors such as manufacturing, smart vehicles, energy and power, according to information released by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the country's top State assets regulator, in late March.

These solutions have significantly reduced costs for central SOEs and their partners as well as improved efficiency in research and development, production and customer service.

Seeing more opportunities in areas such as healthcare, consumption, advanced manufacturing and innovation-driven development, a total of 7,574 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established in China in the first two months of this year, representing a year-on-year growth of 5.8 percent, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Investment from the United Kingdom, Germany and South Korea climbed by 87.9 percent, 54.7 percent and 45.2 percent year-on-year, respectively, in the first two months, according to the ministry.

During separate meetings with several US business leaders, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Wendell Weeks, chairman and CEO of Corning Inc, in Beijing in March, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said that China's economy continues to consolidate and expand its recovery momentum even though it faces growing external uncertainties.

Wang said ongoing policy measures will strongly support economic growth. China will continue to create favorable conditions for foreign companies to increase their investments within its market.

The minister stressed that trade wars produce no winners and protectionism offers no solutions. As the world's two largest economies, stronger China-US economic and trade cooperation is consistent with economic principles, while decoupling and supply chain disruptions would harm all parties involved, he said.

Miguel Lopez, CEO of German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG, said China is not only one of the largest markets for many foreign companies, but also home to the world's most comprehensive industrial and supply chains, supported by a well-developed logistics system.

Thyssenkrupp will continue to strengthen supply chain management in China and establish closer relationships with local suppliers. This will not only improve risk resilience and lower costs, but also benefit its global markets, Lopez said.

"Looking ahead, only through open collaboration, technological innovation and sustainable development can we collectively build a more stable and efficient global supply chain," he said.

Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Danone SA, a French multinational food products company, said that given China's economic significance, a healthy and growing China benefits the entire world.

"Growth in China contributes to the expansion of the global economy, and a thriving global economy, in turn, supports shared prosperity and peace," he added.

Between January and February, foreign-invested businesses in China saw their export value grow 6.9 percent year-on-year to 1.08 trillion yuan ($148.9 billion), according to the General Administration of Customs.