Investment safety and security The Chinese market is attractive

Original title: Foreign Enterprises: Dare to Show Confidence

Since the beginning of this year, in the face of the complicated international situation and the repeated ups and downs of the new crown epidemic, the mainland's absorption of foreign investment has maintained rapid growth. How to further enhance the confidence and enthusiasm of foreign enterprises to invest, so that "foreign enterprises dare to invest", is of great importance to stabilizing the macroeconomic market and promoting high-quality economic and social development, and is also a topic of common concern to all walks of life.

Investment safety and security

Under the impact of the epidemic, the instability and uncertainty of the international situation have increased significantly. In recent years, economic globalization has encountered adverse currents, and investment security has become an important factor affecting international investment.

Sang Baichuan, dean of the Institute of International Economics of the University of International Business and Economics, said that in the current international environment, in order to make "foreign enterprises dare to invest", it is necessary to fully guarantee the safety of investment. "More and more multinational companies are making security a top priority for investment. China should persist in opening wider to the outside world, adhere to multilateralism, strengthen economic and trade exchanges with the international community, and let foreign enterprises invest at ease. At the same time, it is necessary to make overall plans for epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, focus on consolidating the foundation for economic recovery, and maintain the stability of the global supply chain and industrial chain. Sang Baichuan said.

Yu Ying, Partner of KPMG's Head of government and public utilities, held a similar view, "To make foreign enterprises dare to invest, we must first unswervingly expand opening up, accurately align with international economic and trade rules, continue to deepen the flow of goods, services, funds, talents and other elements, steadily expand the institutional opening up of rules, management and standards, and accelerate the construction of comprehensive bonded zones, free trade pilot zones and other frontiers of opening up to the outside world; At the same time, it is necessary to efficiently coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, improve the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, and strengthen contacts and communication with foreign business associations and foreign-funded enterprises at all levels and local governments. Yu Ying said.

In the eyes of many foreign enterprises, the scale and potential of the Chinese market are huge, and only by insisting on opening up to the outside world can foreign enterprises fully enjoy the dividends of the Chinese market.

In recent years, Medtronic, a well-known medical technology company, has been investing in China. In 2021, Medtronic Medical Technology Industry Base project landed in Shanghai Lingang, and in July this year, Medtronic signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Changzhou National High-tech Industrial Development Zone to jointly build Medtronic Kanghui Changzhou Science and Technology Park. "We firmly believe that China will become the world's largest medical market, and the Chinese market is also an important part of Medtronic's global strategic layout. Medtronic has been encouraged by the Chinese government's efforts to firmly expand its opening up to the outside world, providing a lot of support for foreign companies to invest in the medical industry. The relevant person in charge of Medtronic said.

Yu Feng, president of Honeywell China, also said that in the context of the repeated delays of the global epidemic and the difficult recovery of the world economy, China has shown a firm determination to expand opening up, and the comprehensive investment advantages and market attractiveness have increased unabated. Honeywell fully feels the strong resilience and bright prospects of China's economy, and its determination and confidence in China's long-term development are even firmer. Since the beginning of this year, the company has announced or landed a number of cooperation projects in China such as Guangdong Maoming sustainable aviation fuel production base.

The business environment has been optimized

If we say that insisting on opening up to the outside world gives foreign enterprises a reassuring pill for investment, optimizing the business environment will help foreign enterprises reduce investment costs and become an important driving force for "foreign enterprises to dare to invest".

Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that optimizing the business environment is crucial for "foreign enterprises to dare to invest", and the key lies in the implementation of laws and regulations such as the Foreign Investment Law. In addition, local governments and relevant departments should also provide refined investment services to foreign enterprises, do a good job in providing service guarantees for talents, and enhance investment attractiveness.

In March this year, the construction of the Red Bull Beverage (Sichuan) production base project of Tencel Group in Thailand began, and the annual output value of the project will reach 5 billion yuan after the project is fully produced. Xu Xinxiong, CEO of TENCEL Group, said that in recent years, China has strengthened the protection of intellectual property rights to a new height, and with the full implementation of the Foreign Investment Law and related supporting regulations, the business environment has become increasingly market-oriented, rule-of-law and internationalized, which is also an important factor for TENCEL Group to dare to expand investment in China.

Starbucks China CEO Delu Cai laments the changes in China's business environment. "What we feel most deeply is the Chinese government's measures to continuously optimize the business environment, such as continuously simplifying the approval process for business start-ups and actively launching market supervision innovation measures. Taking the approval of Starbucks store opening licenses as an example, local governments have shortened the approval time from the past few months to weeks or even a few days through the introduction of measures such as 'one certificate and multiple licenses', 'commitment system' and 'filing system', which has greatly enhanced our confidence and determination in the long-term investment and development of the Chinese market. Cai Delin said.

It is reported that the current Starbucks business has covered more than 220 cities in China, and is still advancing at an average rate of about 20 new cities per year, and the company plans to reach 6,000 stores in the Chinese market by the end of this year.

In the view of Wang Lei, AstraZeneca's Global Executive Vice President, International Business and China President, China's continuously optimized business environment is crucial for AstraZeneca's investment in China. In June this year, AstraZeneca signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Qingdao Municipal Government, announcing the establishment of AstraZeneca's Regional Headquarters in China in Qingdao, the establishment of a rare disease-themed innovation center, a life science innovation park and an industrial fund, and plans to invest in the construction of Budigfu inhaled aerosol production and supply base in the local area. "Thanks to China's continuously optimized business environment and incentive policies for pharmaceutical innovation, AstraZeneca has been able to continuously strengthen its new drug research and development capabilities in China and promote local innovations to China and even the global market." Wang Lei said.

The Chinese market has charm

As the Chinese market matures and competition becomes more and more intense, more and more foreign companies realize that in order to fully tap the potential of the Chinese market, they must strengthen localization and create products that are more in line with the needs of the Chinese market.

Yin Zheng, global executive vice president and president of Schneider Electric in China, said that this is inseparable from the company's continuous strengthening of local capabilities. "Schneider Electric actively cultivates and trusts local teams and local talents, and the top decision-making team in China is all composed of local talents. We have set up four R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Shenzhen. In the past five years, R&D investment in China has increased by more than 15% every year. We have nearly 30 factories and logistics centers in China and more than 1,600 local suppliers, achieving a local sourcing rate of more than 90%. Schneider Electric is also expanding its ecological partnerships to help partners transition to digital and sustainable development. Yin Zheng said.

Xu Xinxiong also said that foreign companies in China need to accelerate the implementation of localization strategies in order to be invincible in the fierce market competition. "We have established a new company in Beijing to help TENCEL better understand the consumption habits and preferences of Chinese consumers in order to develop products that better meet the needs of local consumers. At the same time, we also hope to introduce new products developed in China to other markets through the company's global business network. Xu Xinxiong said.

With the continuous development of China's beauty market, many outstanding local brands are rising, becoming the object of investment and cooperation for foreign beauty companies. In 2021, Shiseido reached a strategic cooperation with Boyu Investment, a Chinese asset management company, to set up a special investment fund, Ziyue Fund, focusing on emerging brands in the fields of beauty and health, as well as investment opportunities for upstream and downstream companies. According to Kentaro Fujiwara, CEO of Shiseido China, Ziyue Fund has recently completed the relevant regulatory filings, as a new fulcrum for Shiseido to promote local innovation in China, Zisheng Fund will help Shiseido China explore cooperation with various start-up companies and improve the business system in China.

China's innovation resources are becoming more and more abundant, and the return on R&D investment in China is getting higher and higher, which has attracted many multinational companies to strengthen their relevant layouts in recent years. For example, in 2021, AstraZeneca completed the full upgrade of the Global R&D China Center in Shanghai. In addition, the ability of Chinese enterprises in the fields of software services, cultural creativity and other fields in content production and operation is also being recognized by peers in related fields around the world. On August 9, Unity, a real-time 3D interactive content creation and operation platform, announced that it has reached an agreement with partners and established a joint venture, Unity China; On the same day, Billboard, a well-known music content platform, announced that it has officially entered the Chinese market and will cooperate with local industry partners in China to disseminate chinese artists and music around the world.

As one of the most innovative and dynamic markets in the world, China is giving birth to a "two-way rush" between foreign and Chinese capital. (Yuan Yong, Zhu Lin)

Source: Economic Daily