Global Times: Why do multinationals choose China to 'connect with the world'?

BEIJING, June 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The high-quality development of China's economy has ushered in an upgraded era of "China opportunities," creating an ideal stage for multinationals to enhance their competitiveness and pursue new growth.

The 6th Qingdao Multinationals Summit, held from June 18 to June 20, sent a strong signal of China's commitment to further opening up and welcoming foreign investment amid rising global unilateralism and protectionism. This summit provided a platform for multinational corporations (MNCs) to assess the pulse of China's economy and seize its opportunities.

Foreign enterprises, particularly MNCs, are important participants in China's path to modernization, key contributors to China's reform, opening-up, and innovation, and vital players in connecting China with the world and integrating into economic globalization. Since its launch in 2019, the Qingdao Multinationals Summit has grown into a vital cooperation platform, reflecting MNCs' steadfast commitment to deepening their presence in China.

In recent years, the summit has welcomed a growing "circle of friends" and increasingly diverse sector participation. This year's event attracted 570 participants from 135 Fortune 500 companies and 330 industry leaders. The summit's expanding influence reflects MNCs' confidence in China's market and their optimism about the country's economic outlook.

The rise in interest is rooted in China's stable and sustained opportunities. In recent years, global economic development has faced increasing uncertainty, making growth opportunities scarce. China's ongoing push for high-quality development has positioned it as an "oasis of certainty." Multinationals, by leveraging investments in China, have maintained their global competitive edge and reaped significant "China dividends."

According to a report on MNCs in China released at the 6th Qingdao Multinationals Summit, from 2019 to 2024, the total profits of large-scale overseas-invested industrial enterprises (including those from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan island) increased from 1.6 trillion yuan ($222.6 billion) to 1.8 trillion yuan, with profit margins consistently exceeding the national industrial average.

The report also showed that foreign enterprises have been bullish on increasing investment locally.

From 2013 to 2023, research and development expenditure in large-scale, overseas-funded industrial enterprises in China ‌increased‌ from 201.51 billion yuan to 375.76 billion yuan, ‌a rise of‌ 86.5 percent, CCTV reported.

From January to May 2025, China saw the establishment of 24,018 new foreign-invested enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 10.4 percent, according to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

During the same period, by sector, the actual foreign investment in manufacturing reached 91.52 billion yuan, while the service sector attracted 259.64 billion yuan. High-tech industries utilized 109.04 billion yuan in foreign investment, with notable growth in specific areas: e-commerce services surged by 146 percent, aerospace equipment manufacturing by 74.9 percent, chemical pharmaceuticals by 59.2 percent, and medical instruments and equipment manufacturing by 20 percent, MOFCOM statistics showed.

The current international environment is becoming increasingly complex and challenging, with rising tariff barriers and a growing confidence deficit among multinational corporations. At this crucial juncture, China remains steadfast in expanding high-level openness, steadily generating new opportunities for all parties through its own development.

Since early 2025, China has launched the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, rolling out 20 practical measures and 155 pilot tasks focused on expanding comprehensive opening in the service sector. Leveraging platforms such as national economic and technological development zones and free trade zones, China has implemented attractive foreign investment promotion measures, fostering a favorable environment for foreign enterprises to invest and thrive. The swift rollout of these opening-up policies has reinforced MNCs' belief that "investing in China is investing in the future."

This year's Qingdao Multinationals Summit, themed "Multinationals and China: Connecting the World for Win-Win Cooperation," highlights a growing trend of MNCs leveraging China's opportunities to "connect with the world."

In recent years, the strategy of "in China, for the world" has emerged as a key pillar of MNCs' operations in China. As Jens Eskelund, President of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, noted, "For many companies, China is the market where you need to continue to invest in order to remain competitive."

What drives this trend of connecting the world through China? It is fueled by long-term confidence supported by a stable policy environment and multidimensional opening-up, the scale advantages of China's vast market, consumption upgrades, and comprehensive supply chain systems, as well as the opportunities for technological iteration and business model innovation brought by maturing sectors like the digital economy and green technology.

In short, China's high-quality development has ushered in an upgraded era of "China opportunities," offering an ideal platform for multinationals to strengthen their competitiveness and pursue new growth.

China has been, is, and will remain an ideal, safe, and promising destination for foreign investment. No matter how the international landscape evolves, China's doors to openness will continue to widen, its business environment will keep improving, and the opportunities it offers to global multinationals will continue to expand.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202506/1336790.shtml

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SOURCE Global Times