Executives and other representatives of multinational companies from the United States and other countries attended a roundtable meeting on Friday in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, to learn about the Chinese government's priorities for the next five years so as to make informed decisions about their future development strategies in the country.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and U.S. Multinational Enterprises Roundtable Meeting, an important communication mechanism established by China's top economic planner in 2021, gathered more than 50 multinational firms from abroad this year.
The event allowed the foreign investors and the Chinese authorities to hold discussions on the latest government policies and how these multinationals can best implement their expansion plans in China.
Many were keenly interested in getting an early understanding of China's policy focuses as its political leadership works on drawing up the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a pivotal blueprint that will shape the country's social and economic development over the next half a decade.
"As the Chinese government works actively on its 15th Five-Year Plan, we are also working with our global headquarters to make a strategic plan for Danaher China in the next 10 years," said Anita Wei, vice president of external affairs at Danaher China, a U.S. multinational specializing in life sciences and health care, in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
Cao Yang, president of Baker Hughes China, a U.S. energy technology company, said the officials from the NDRC and the local Fujian government were forthcoming and meticulous in responding to the inquiries from the multinationals during the meeting, which he said shows China's strong support to foreign enterprises.
"After giving a brief speech, I promptly received a response from the authorities and it's most likely that I will hear some follow-up feedback. This once again shows that the government's firm support for the development of foreign companies in China," he told CCTV.
Some multinationals have anticipated that China's new five-year plan will heavily focus on boosting its technology and innovation capabilities, and have taken steps to plan ahead accordingly.
Li Ping, vice president of Becton Dickinson (BD) Greater China, a U.S. medical technology company, told CCTV that the company in early June upgraded its laboratory in Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, to a Greater Asia Integrated Technical Center.
"Early this month, we just updated our Suzhou lab to a technical center which enables us to serve our global clients from China for the first time. This is because China's overall innovation capabilities and global influence have been improving continuously," he said.
American multinational e-commerce company eBay also plans to launch new businesses in China's livestreaming industry.
"eBay is still investing in the most nascent businesses. For instance, the livestreaming industry, which is very popular in China, is still in its infancy in Europe and America. eBay is also continuously making plans in China," said Zhou Yongjun, sales director for eBay's East China Region.
In addition to the U.S. firms, some European multinationals including German industrial giant Siemens were also present at the roundtable event.
"We are paying close attention to China's future plans for scientific and technological innovation, high-end manufacturing and infrastructure during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. We also believe that policies like these will continuously help drive economic development and bring us new market opportunities," said Liu Mingyang, government affairs director at Siemens (China).
Roundtable event in Fujian gathers gov't, foreign firms to discuss investment plans in China
