(Yicai) March 6 -- Executives from 10 multinational corporations in China said they anticipate new policies to be forthcoming and are eager to foster shared growth and prosperity with the Chinese economy following the government's renewed commitment to expanding the country’s high-level opening-up in the work report delivered to parliament yesterday.

Investing in China has always been a choice for global capital, Huzur Devletsah, president and general manager of Eli Lilly’s Chinese unit, told Yicai. With the door opening wider, the US drugmaker regards China not only as its top strategic market, but also as its top investment destination, she added.

Eli Lilly has set up an efficient full-process value chain in China, ranging from cutting-edge research and development to product commercialization, Devletsah noted. This ensures that new drugs are launched as quickly as possible to meet the unique needs of local patients, she said.

Dassault Systèmes looks forward to seeing the implementation of more detailed policies that support participation by foreign-funded businesses in China's new industrialization process, especially in the high-tech field of industrial software, said Zhang Ying, president of the local arm of the French maker of three-dimensional software for product design, simulation, and manufacturing.

China's high-level opening-up has entered a new stage of "two-way empowerment," whereby foreign-funded companies gain growth dividends through deepening technology use while the nation hastens its industrial transformation through integration with global companies, Zhang pointed out.

Strong Signal

China's stated goal of "expanding high-level opening-up and actively stabilizing foreign investment and foreign trade" strongly signals its continuous enhancement of the business environment and promotion of high-quality development, providing assurance for GE Healthcare Technologies to further deepen its production layout in the country, according to a representative of its local subsidiary.

GE Healthcare China had doubled its investment in R&D over the past few years, with the team growing to more than 1,800 people, the person noted, adding that more than 150 innovative products have been launched in China.

Boston Scientific China, a branch of the US medical devices maker, has witnessed China's commitment to high-level opening-up and its strategic determination to enhance global resource allocation through deeper reforms, and noted its resolve to create a stable, fair, and predictable institutional environment, said President June Chang.

Powerful Magnet 

hina has become a powerful "magnet" for attracting foreign-funded enterprises, Chang said. "Boston Scientific firmly chooses to invest in China and steadily carries out its business towards building a dual-circulation model of 'global wisdom growing locally and Chinese innovation shared globally,’” she added.

"The vision and strategy of TotalEnergies perfectly match China's needs, laying a solid foundation for our success in China," Yu Yongjian, chairman of the local unit of the French integrated energy company, told Yicai.

In the context of the energy transition, TotalEnergies is carrying out research projects such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage in China and enabling innovative achievements to benefit the whole world, Yu added. The nation's opening-up policy will promote closer cooperation between TotalEnergies and domestic firms, he noted.

Huntsman Polyurethanes Asia Pacific, a unit of the US chemicals giant, has taken note of the Chinese government's continuous efforts to improve the business environment, according to President Kenny Pan. For example, the release of the action plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment in 2025 shows a determination to expand opening-up and create a fairer and more business-friendly investment environment, he pointed out.

"We look forward to the implementation of the commitments made in the government's policy documents,” Pan noted, “including the introduction of specific incentives to encourage foreign-invested firms to reinvest in China in different forms of cooperation, as well as support for foreign-invested companies to participate in China's new industrialization process, especially in high-tech projects.”

Two Sessions

"China will continue to promote high-level opening-up and optimize the business environment, which is a key signal released by the Two Sessions," said Nancy Liu, president of a luxury travel retailer DFS Group's China arm.

Known as the Two Sessions, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference meet each March in Beijing to consider proposals and set the country's political and economic priorities. Premier Li Qiang delivered the government's annual work report to the NPC yesterday.

"The construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port is an important measure of China's deepening reform and opening-up," Liu said. “We look forward to the port's smooth completion by the end of this year. As a pioneer area of reform and opening-up, institutional innovation in Hainan province is vital.”

Many well-known European and American brands hope to use Hainan as a "testing ground" for entry into the Chinese mainland market, according to Liu. DFS's retail, leisure, and entertainment resort project in Sanya is its biggest single investment in 60 years, and it will help the business better seize the opportunities brought by China's consumption upgrade, Liu added.

Positive Statements

The Chinese government's recent positive statements on expanding high-level opening-up have further strengthened the confidence of foreign firms such as Nestlé, which have been deeply rooted in China for many years, in sharing development opportunities and achieving win-win cooperation, said David Zhang, chairman and chief executive of the Swiss food and drink giant's country arm.

Nestlé has always been a firm investor in China and hopes to deepen its presence in the market, following the pace of China's economic growth, Zhang said, adding that the company is also committed to contributing to the new quality productive forces in the food and beverage field.

Saravoot Yoovidhya, CEO of leading Thai food and beverage firm TCP Group, said that he looks forward to the Chinese government continuing to "subtract" from foreign investment access restrictions and "add" to the intensity of policies supporting foreign investment, further boosting the confidence of foreign investors in China.

China has always been the most important overseas investment market for TCP and is also at the forefront of its house of brands global strategy, Yoovidhya pointed out.

Regarding the work report’s mention of promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce, Amazon Global Selling will launch a series of practical initiatives this year to support Chinese transborder e-commerce companies in building a systematic innovation system from product development and brand building to supply chain management, Vice President Cindy Tai told Yicai. These will cover product R&D, brand building, and supply chain management, she added.

Sales of Chinese brands on Amazon surged nearly 30 percent last year from 2023, according to data from the platform.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev