Recently, a new blueprint for China's economic and social development has been drawn, which has also brought new opportunities and confidence to foreign-funded enterprises developing in China, and has become an important window for the world to observe China's high-quality development and expand high-level opening-up in the new era. Xu Xinxiong, Vice President of the China Thailand Chamber of Commerce and CEO of Tencel Group, the founding company of Red Bull, accepted the special planning of the "BIZ Talk" column of CCTV International (CGTN). As the only representative of Southeast Asian enterprises, Xu Xinxiong highly appreciated the achievements of China's reform and opening up, and talked about the "new" and "quality" of China's economy, which will bring more development opportunities to foreign-funded enterprises, including Tencel Group. In addition, Xu Xinxiong also talked about the positive impact of China's comprehensive deepening reform and opening up on the regional economy, especially the role of promoting two-way investment in Southeast Asia and China.
Xu Xinxiong, CEO of Tencel Group
In the interview, Xu Xinxiong said that the Chinese government has unswervingly deepened reform and opening up, and China's economy has made achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. China is transforming from a "world factory" to a "global market" and an "innovation center", and the cultivation of new quality productivity provides a broad space for the development of foreign-funded enterprises. Xu Xinxiong believes that the continuous opening up of China's economy has brought more opportunities for regional cooperation, brought huge development opportunities for foreign enterprises, including Thailand enterprises, and strengthened the confidence of Tencel Group in investment and development in China.
As a representative of Thailand enterprises in China, Tencel Group is a witness and participant in the reform and opening up. In 1993, Xu Shubiao, the founder of Tencel Group, responded to the call of reform and opening up and established China's first Red Bull factory in Hainan, where his ancestral hometown is located, and Red Bull entered the Chinese market. Over the past 30 years, with the continuous deepening of China's reform and opening up, Tencel Group has continued to deepen the Chinese market and continuously increase its investment in China, with a cumulative investment of about 3.3 billion yuan in China in the past two years.
Innovative China strengthens the confidence of foreign enterprises in the development of China
China's economy seeks "quality" from "new", and the new quality of productivity is promoting the rapid development of China's innovation capability. As the world's second largest economy, China now plays a vital role in global economic development and is the main engine and "stabilizer" of world economic growth. At the same time, by accelerating the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces led by technological innovation, the "innovation power" of China's economy is constantly highlighted, providing new momentum for world economic growth and providing more opportunities for the development of enterprises from all over the world in China.
Tencel Group is actively embracing this trend and applying advanced technologies to all aspects of its business, including production, sales, operations, and R&D. On the production side, the Red Bull Beverage (Sichuan) production base of Tencel Group has deeply integrated the core elements of new quality productivity, introduced industry-leading high-speed automatic production lines and fully automatic three-dimensional warehouses, integrated production, warehousing and comprehensive utilization of resources, and reached the world's leading energy-saving standards for green factories. On the R&D side, Tencel Group has established a R&D center in China to accurately obtain consumer insights and develop more innovative products that meet the needs of local consumers in China through artificial intelligence, big data and other technical means. At the same time, Tencel Group also hopes to take advantage of China's innovation environment and Tencel Group's global marketing network to promote innovative products in the Chinese market to other markets. Last year, Tencel Group successfully launched the first bottled Red Bull product in the Chinese market.
The first bottled Red Bull ® energy drink in China
China is not only cultivating innovation, but also protecting it, and creating a market-oriented, rule-of-law, and international business environment. Xu Xinxiong said that the Chinese government has taken a series of practical measures, including continuously improving the intellectual property legal system, promoting departmental and regional cooperation, and deepening international cooperation, so that enterprises can feel that brands and technologies can be equally protected in China. These measures will also boost the confidence of foreign companies and encourage more companies to enter the Chinese market.
"China is the preferred investment destination for Thailand companies," Xu Xinxiong said, "Taking China as an example, China is the most important overseas investment market for Tencel Group." In December last year, with the support of Sichuan Province and Neijiang City, the Red Bull Beverage (Sichuan) production base of Tencel Group with a total investment of 2 billion yuan was successfully put into operation, mainly radiating to the western region to meet the diversified needs of Chinese consumers; In July last year, the production base of Tencel Group's Red Bull Beverage Guangxi ASEAN Economic Development Zone with a total investment of 1.3 billion yuan also officially started.
Tencel Group's Red Bull Beverage (Sichuan) production base
China's openness has brought opportunities to the regional economy
China has continued to deepen its opening-up and created a more favorable environment for bilateral and multilateral cooperation by promoting high-level trade and investment liberalization. Xu Xinxiong pointed out that China's high-level opening-up has significantly promoted trade and economic partnerships with Thailand and other ASEAN countries, especially the Belt and Road Initiative, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, reflecting China's determination to promote regional integration and economic cooperation.
ASEAN and China have been each other's largest trading partners for four consecutive years, and ASEAN is expected to remain China's largest trading partner in 2024. China has been Thailand's largest trading partner for 11 consecutive years and is Thailand's most important source of investment. In March this year, China and Thailand entered the era of visa-free access, which further promoted business communication and personnel exchanges between the two countries. Next year, China and Thailand will usher in the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the development of bilateral relations is standing at a new historical starting point. As the vice president of the China Thailand Chamber of Commerce, Xu Xinxiong believes that as the China-Thailand community with a shared future points out the direction for the future development of bilateral relations, the space for investment and trade cooperation between China and Thailand will be further expanded, encouraging more two-way investment and economic, trade and cultural exchanges.
In the 2024 Thailand style, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to China, Han Chancai (left), visited the Red Bull booth of Tencel Group
As the largest energy drink manufacturer in Southeast Asia, Tencel Group is playing an important role in bridging the Chinese market with the ASEAN market. As the founder and owner of the global Red Bull brand and the "Red Bull" trademark, Tencel Group has operations in many countries in Southeast Asia, such as Singapore, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei. With a total investment of about 1.3 billion yuan, the production base of Tencel Group's Red Bull Beverage in Guangxi ASEAN Economic Development Zone will become a key fulcrum connecting the Chinese and ASEAN markets after completion.
Tencel Group's Red Bull Beverage Guangxi ASEAN Economic Development Zone production base