Global enterprises remain keen on exploring new opportunities and ramping up investments in China, drawn by the nation's inviting policies and commitment to openness.
At the China Development Forum that opened on Sunday, business leaders said that the nation's growing economic potential and opening-up policies encourage international partnerships and sustainable investments.
Bill Winters, CEO of the global bank Standard Chartered, said that the company will continuously focus on supporting both Chinese and foreign enterprises.
"We're prioritizing what we've always prioritized in China, which is to support our Chinese clients who are operating internationally, support international clients who are operating or may want to operate in China," said Winters.
Saleh Al-Khabti, President of ACWA Power China, applauded China's welcoming policies and encouragement for collaboration.
"We will be investing about 75 billion dollars in China between renewable water desalination and green hydrogen. And we are here looking for more partners, more friends in China, to join us in sharing these investments. And hopefully from what we heard today, the government policies, they're very welcoming. They made us feel more comfortable about investing in China," said Al-Khabti.
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman of Schneider Electric, said the company has made remarkable advancements in developing green technology in China.
"In China, we've got 22 net-zero factories. We've got 19 factories which have been certified as green by the Ministry of Information and Industry Technology. So all of this shows that you can apply technology on new factories, new buildings, new data centers, new cities. But more so, you can use -- with a lot of profit -- technology to upgrade existing infrastructure," said Tricoire.
Prominent Chinese business and academic leaders also shared optimism about China's strategic commitment to further opening up its economy.
"I also saw many large enterprises, including the chairman of Rio Tinto Group -- we had exchanges today -- as well as many others. Some we have cooperated with, and some we haven't. Some are my old friends of many years. Some are familiar faces and we meet at different occasions and conferences. I think the further opening of our country is attracting more enterprises to invest in China. In this complex landscape, it is particularly important to demonstrate our resilience and stability," said Liu Yonghao, chairman of New Hope Group.
"China's stance is very firm. We support and encourage further opening up. We encourage sincere cooperation and mutual benefits among countries. So in this regard, we also hope, through policies on further opening up, we could deepen reforms, and attract more multinational companies to operate in China," said Xue Lan, a Cheung Kong Chair Distinguished Professor and Dean of Schwarzman College in Tsinghua University.
Themed "Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy", the two-day forum brought together 86 official delegates from multinational companies from 21 countries.
Global firms keen to explore new opportunities in Chinese market
