Since the start of this year, an increasing number of foreign enterprises have cast a vote of confidence in China's economic resilience and opening-up measures, expanding the scope of their existing businesses to take advantage of market opportunities and robust industrial chains.
Valeo, a major French automotive parts supplier, put into operation a new manufacturing base in Shanghai in the third quarter of this year. The base focuses on advanced driver-assistance systems, producing smart driving cameras, domain controllers, and laser radar products.
The company's CEO Christophe Perillat believes that China plays a significant role in driving the technological upgrading of automotive parts manufacturers as the country is accelerating the transformation of its auto industry towards intelligence and electrification.
"The Chinese automotive market is the largest in the world, and also what I'd like to call the world's automotive fitness center. And China has become the trend setter of our sector at the forefront in electric cars, autonomous vehicles, advanced driving assistance and software-defined vehicles. At a time when the automotive sector is undergoing the biggest transformation in its history, our ambition is to be their preferred partner in this transformation," he said.
In the first nine months of this year, China's equipment upgrade program has achieved remarkable results with equipment purchase investment growing above 10 percent, becoming a key force driving investment growth.
Data shows that China has the largest number of escalators and elevators in the world, with more than 11 million lifters in use, of which more than 900,000 have been in service for more than 15 years, forming a huge renovation and upgrading market.
As of the end of the third quarter of this year, Otis, an American elevator and escalator manufacturer, has participated in China's residential elevator renewal projects across 34 cities and been deeply integrated into the construction of local livelihood projects.
"But we live in an as-built world, where buildings are aging and the population is aging. That's what the newest trend is, that's what the emerging demand signal is around the world and explicitly here in China. It's our largest manufacturing organization and install base anywhere in the world. It's our largest digital install base as well. We are excited about the future. It has an absolute place for Otis in terms of strategic importance," said Judy Marks, chair, CEO and president of Otis.
China's wider opening-up in healthcare has also created a more favorable investment environment for multinational corporations. French pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced the official opening of its Beijing production facility, with a total investment of 1 billion euros. This is Sanofi's largest single investment in China and demonstrates its confidence in the long-term development of the Chinese market.
"Sanofi was one of the first multinational companies to enter China over 40 years ago and one of the first to establish a full-value chain presence in the country. Since then, China has become a key strategic market for Sanofi. 2025 also marks the 30th anniversary of Sanofi's local manufacturing in China. And with our plans to establish a new insulin manufacturing site in Beijing, we are strengthening a resilient local supply capacity to better serve Chinese patients," said Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi.
Int'l firms bullish on China's economic resilience, beef up investment
Int'l firms bullish on China's economic resilience, beef up investment
