Since the beginning of this year, a number of German companies have increased their layout in China: Audi's first pure electric model production base in China has started pre-mass production; Mercedes-benz and BMW set up a joint venture to operate a supercharging network in the Chinese market; Zeiss 'largest Quality Centre of Excellence in China opens in Dongguan...

This positive trend is also confirmed in a recent survey report released by the German Chamber of Commerce in China. According to the report, companies in Beijing are more optimistic about China's economic prospects than they were last year. Of the 186 German companies surveyed, 84 percent expect the Chinese economy to improve or maintain its performance in the next six months. In terms of investment in China, more than half of the surveyed enterprises plan to increase investment in China in the next two years, and 27 percent plan to maintain the scale of investment.

It is not just German companies that are bullish on the Chinese market. According to a report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China this year, 50 percent of the surveyed US companies ranked China as their first or top three investment destinations in the world, and nearly 40 percent said they planned to increase investment in China in 2024.

In June, PepsiCo broke ground on a 1.3 billion yuan production facility in Shaanxi province, marking the U.S.-based group's first production facility in northwest China and its fifth major investment in the country in the past five years. "PepsiCo is full of confidence in the high level of opening up of the Chinese market and the high-quality development of the Chinese economy, and has continued to accelerate its investment process in China in recent years." Said Chang 'an Xie, chief executive of PepsiCo Greater China.

Why are foreign investors increasing their presence in China? The reporter observed that in addition to the vast market and perfect industrial chain supply chain, China's constantly improving R & D and innovation capability has become an important plus.

It is understood that Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Covestro, Valeo and other enterprises have laid out their huge R&D centers and innovation centers in China.

"Mercedes-benz's local research and development in China has entered the stage of 'leading the global trend with Chinese innovation', and more and more innovation results are applied to the global research and development network, especially in the field of electrification and intelligence." Troska, a member of the board of directors of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said.

Charles Foster, President and CEO of Zeiss Greater China, believes that China, with its open innovation system, visionary talent training strategy and policy support for industrial development, will become a major driving force shaping future technology and innovation trends. "Zeiss's investment focus in China is aligned with the goal of high-quality economic development in China, and we look forward to achieving common development with our Chinese partners in sectors such as healthcare."

Foreign companies continue to expand their presence in the Chinese market because of their confidence in the long-term prospects of China's economic development.

According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's total retail sales of consumer goods rose 3.7 per cent in May from a year earlier, the value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size rose 5.6 per cent, and the total import and export of goods rose 8.6 per cent.

Recently, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citi, Deutsche Bank and other institutions have intensively upgraded their forecasts for China's economic growth.

"Recently, China has introduced a series of policies to stabilize the real estate market, export performance has exceeded expectations, actual consumption and consumption willingness have picked up, and China's economic recovery has become more obvious." Said Taimur Baig, chief economist at DBS Group Research in Singapore.

Continue to reduce the negative list of foreign investment access, publish the Regulations on Promoting and Regulating Cross-border Data Flow, welcome foreign enterprises to actively participate in government procurement, and expand the scope of visa-free countries. The measures introduced by the Chinese government to expand high-level opening-up and optimize the business environment have opened up a broader space for foreign companies to enter the Chinese market.

According to the European Chamber of Commerce in China Business Confidence Survey 2024, released in May, 45 percent of the surveyed companies believe that market access in their industries has been liberalized, up 9 percentage points from last year. Respondents in the financial services sector are the most optimistic about the opening up of the Chinese market.

On May 9, mastercard, a joint venture company established in China, officially opened, and the orderly opening of China's bank card clearing market was further further.

"We are very optimistic about the Chinese market, which is large enough that we are confident to do a good job in the business and bring more differentiated, refined services and clearing technology." Ling Hai, chairman of the mastercard Network and president of Mastercard International, told reporters.

"China will continue to be an important contributor to global economic growth in the future, and we have full confidence in our business and investment in China." Foster said.

Source: Chinese government website