Global companies see signals for continued investment in China

Multinational corporations voiced optimism about China's economic prospects and pledged efforts to step up investment in the world's second-largest economy following the conclusion of the Central Economic Work Conference, which released positive policy signals for foreign companies.

The Work Conference, held from Wednesday to Thursday, stressed the need to fully and faithfully apply the country's new development philosophy, move faster to forge a new development paradigm and focus on promoting high-quality development.

In Beijing on Saturday, the results of the conference fueled discussions at the 15th International Roundtable of Multinational Corporation Leaders, which gathered executives from multinational corporations and representatives of international chambers of commerce from the United States, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, and other countries.

Many guests pointed out that China's strategic direction of pursuing opening up, pushing for win-win cooperation across various fields, promoting green transformation, and cultivating new quality productive forces is creating unprecedented cooperation opportunities for global enterprises.

The annual Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from Wednesday to Thursday as Chinese leaders decided priorities for the economic work in 2026, outlining policy directions ranging from boosting domestic demand, pursuing innovation-driven growth to advancing green transition.

"Our American companies, our AmCham member companies are certainly watching the Work Conference results and we're looking at the 15th-Five-Year Plan. So AmCham China member companies really appreciate the opportunity to see such detailed plans. It allows our companies to think long term about China and understand how they can match the opportunities in China. So it's very positive. The fact that the plans continue to emphasize opening up the economy is very good for us. We think it's a signal for continued investment and our members will continue to look for opportunities to invest in China, which we continue to have confidence in as a global market," said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China).

In the first three quarters of 2025, UK investment in China increased by 21.1 percent year on year, ranking third among global investors in China. Landmark projects in sectors such as finance, elderly care, and creative industries are expected to be launched in 2026.

"I'm aware as well of areas in China such as the Greater Bay Area and also east China and the Yangtze River Delta being particularly strong points for us to continue testing out and piloting models of collaboration in the future. So very much we continue to watch this space and I expect in 2026 there to be some progressive actions taken in this particular segment of the economy," said Kiran Patel, senior director of the China-Britain Business Council.

A Kazakh businessman in attendance said that as the birthplace and key partner of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Kazakhstan's cooperation with China is no longer limited to traditional energy resources, but is expanding into high-value-added areas that meet the needs of China's consumption upgrade.

"China is now one of the top countries in the world by agriculture technologies and agricultural equipment. What I suggest, Chinese manufacturers and producers, they can look to not only the Kazakhstan market but also all the Central Asian region to provide their equipment and to build the service centers, the dealer centers and other parts of infrastructure. And I think that within the next five years, it can be huge demand of these products," said Baltabek Mukashev, chairman of the Eurasia Group, a consultancy firm.

The 2025 Central Economic Work Conference emphasized the need to develop new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions, listing new energy vehicles and lithium batteries as new growth points for consumption. This provides ample room for related multinational corporations like Albemarle, a U.S.-based chemicals manufacturing company.

"China will focus more on boosting domestic consumption in the future, especially in automobiles, electronic devices, and other new application scenarios, such as the robots I just mentioned, which all require batteries as power, providing us with a direct market," said Xu Yang, president of Albemarle China, which pledged a new investment worth one billion U.S. dollars in China for 2025.

Global companies see signals for continued investment in China

Global companies see signals for continued investment in China

Global companies see signals for continued investment in China

Global companies see signals for continued investment in China

The closure of Poipet border crossing, the largest land border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia, has left large numbers of people stranded on both sides of the border and unable to return home amid continuing clashes.

At the Thai side of the border on Saturday, security personnel carried out strict checks on all vehicles and people at a distance of about 500 meters from the Poipet crossing, and only those holding Cambodian documents and relevant personnel were allowed access to the area.

"I have been in Thailand for about three to four years, working in a factory. Now the situation at the border is not good, so I want to go back to my hometown," said one of the stranded Cambodian nationals.

Another more than 20 Cambodian nationals failed to go home through the Poipet border crossing on Saturday, and were later picked up by a kind-hearted Thai local, who said that many groups of Cambodians had tried to cross the border every day but failed recently.

"They have no place to sleep, and they would be bitten by mosquitoes if sleeping outdoors, so I want to take them to my place. They just can't go through this checkpoint," said the local.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said at a press conference Saturday that 6,000 to 7,000 Thai nationals were stranded on the Cambodian side of the Poipet border checkpoint.

Closure of Poipet border crossing leaves many stranded amid clashes