(Yicai Global) Oct. 18 -- Several multinational corporations have said they welcome the opportunity to play a bigger role in China’s development and to share the spoils of growth after the economic blueprint released by the ongoing National Congress of the Communist Party of China yesterday put the emphasis on continued deepening of reforms and opening up.

Yicai Global spoke to representatives of over 10 multinationals in China in fields ranging from advanced manufacturing to aviation and building materials. All of them said they planned to hike investment in the country, help in the transition from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China,’ build a green economy and continue to share the dividends of the country’s growth.

Danone is looking forward to an even higher level of opening-up, Bruno Chevot, Danone’s president for China, North Asia and Oceania, told Yicai Global. The French food producer has witnessed, experienced and benefited from China’s reforms and opening-up. The firm’s China sales have doubled over the past decade and China is now the Paris-based company’s second-largest market worldwide, he added.

The National Congress report serves as a bellwether for New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra Co-Operative Group to assess the future direction of the nation’s development, said Zhou Dehan, chief executive officer of Fonterra’s China division.

The report says that “win-win cooperation” is fundamental to achieving “modernization with Chinese characteristics,” Zhou said. Auckland-based Fonterra will continue to hike investment in China, work closely with its Chinese partners and share with them the benefits of the country’s development, he added.

More Opportunities

“The huge domestic market and strong demand in China still have a lot of potential,” said Rajat Agarwal, president of German chemical and consumer goods firm Henkel’s China arm. The nation’s high-level reform and opening-up policies will provide firms in the country with more opportunities, he added.

“We are happy to see China has entered a brand-new phase of development, and we along with our Chinese partners are seizing opportunities to develop more world-class resources and support China’s economic development,” Alf Barrios, chief commercial officer and chairman of Anglo-Australian mining titan Rio Tinto’s China division, told Yicai Global.

Rio Tinto and China Baowu Steel Group agreed last month to invest USD2 billion to develop an iron ore project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Barrios said. London-based Rio Tinto will hold a 54 percent stake in the joint venture and Baowu 46 percent.

“We also penned a memorandum of understanding with steel mill Shougang Group to develop, design and implement low-carbon solutions for the steel industry,” he added.

The National Congress report underscores China’s determination to speed up the formation of a new development pattern and focus on high-quality development, said Huang Guoqiang, senior vice president of Danish toymaker The Lego Group and general manager China.

China has always been an important strategic market for Lego, and there is still a lot of room for the Billund-based firm to develop in the country, Huang said. “We will continue to explore the huge Chinese market and help kids learn and grow while playing with Lego toys.”

China has the potential to be an active participant and leader in the global economic recovery, said Chen Jialiang, senior vice president of US logistics giant FedEx Corp. and president of the China branch. FedEx will keep investing in infrastructure and expanding its network to more second- and third-tier cities to connect China to the world through efficient, reliable and abundant transportation links, he added.

From ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’

Institutional opening-up is higher-level opening-up, said Wang Chunwen, chairman and president of British safety equipment company Halma’s Asia-Pacific arm. China has been making continuous efforts in this respect. For example, the country is strengthening its stance on intellectual property protection, which will encourage multinationals to be more active in the transition from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China.’

Intellectual property protection is an issue for Halma when bringing in some of its high-tech products to China, Wang said. China is improving its IP laws and regulations to be in line with international standards and is adjusting rules in order to enable internationally-accepted practice to be implemented on the ground, he added.

Halma now has nearly 900 employees in China and is building a production, research and development base for the Asia-Pacific region in Shanghai to promote local innovation.

German cleaning equipment maker Alfred Karcher has achieved the transition from “Made in China” to “Created in China” as it is improving its business positionings in China, said Tang Xiaodong, China president at Alfred Karcher. Products developed in China in the future will use the firm’s worldwide sales network to go global.

Shared Benefits

The report showed China’s determination to adhere to high-quality opening-up and its sincere wishes to share its market opportunities with the rest of the world, said Wang Lei, global vice president and China president at UK drug developer AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca is confident about and looking forward to the firm’s further development in the country.

US aerospace firm Honeywell International will continue to provide China’s first homegrown large passenger jet, the Comac C919, with innovative solutions and help it be a successful commercial aircraft, Yu Feng, president of Honeywell China, told Yicai Global.

China’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals are a milestone in the globe’s handling of climate change and will bring more opportunities for Honeywell and other companies to focus on innovative technologies for sustainable development, Yu said.

Honeywell is linking arms with its Chinese partners to form a sustainable aviation fuel plant in Lianyungang, eastern Jiangsu province to reduce carbon emissions in the aviation industry, the North Caroline-based company said last month.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor