Foreign-funded companies have accelerated capital increases, capacity expansion and business upgrades in China, gearing up to seize new development opportunities in the Chinese market at the start of 2026.
In Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, a German manufacturer recently inaugurated its new Asia-Pacific headquarters. With a total investment of 500 million yuan (around 72.02 million U.S. dollars), the project has nearly doubled the company's original factory floor space.
"In the coming three years of 2026, 2027, and 2028, we will continue to invest an additional 200 million yuan (around 28.81 million U.S. dollars) in equipment upgrades. This is to ensure that we can meet the demands of not only the Chinese market but our customers across the entire Asia-Pacific region," said Yang Xinhua, general manager of Huber and Ranner Environmental Equipment (Taicang) Co., Ltd.
The drive for expansion is also visible in Kunshan, where KONE's elevator production workshops are operating at full capacity to meet a surge in orders. The Finnish company's elevator business has found new growth drivers, bolstered by China's policies on large-scale equipment renewal and support for ultra-long special treasury bonds.
"Our modernization solutions already cover 30 provinces, but I think what we can do this year is we can go even deeper to benefit the society even further at large," said Jussi Herlin, vice chairman of the board of KONE Corporation.
In Beijing, a growing number of foreign-funded enterprises are also mapping out their new development strategies in China.
"We've been now here with this operation for 20 years. We're celebrating our anniversary this year. I think it's a good time to take stock and look forward to the future. How could we introduce more automation, more digital support for our production system," said Jonathan Paddison, a member of the board of directors at Knorr-Bremse Asia-Pacific.
Recent surveys underscore the strong confidence of foreign businesses in the Chinese market. According to a Business Confidence Survey released by the German Chamber of Commerce in China, 93 percent of German companies operating in China plan to remain in the market, with more than half intending to increase their investment.
Similarly, the 2026 China Business Climate Survey Report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China shows that expectations for China-U.S. relations have improved significantly, and 52 percent of surveyed companies continue to rank China among their top three global investment destinations.
"The services sector reported quite a big improvement in profitability. Also the consumer sector much better this past year. Also, China continues to be a good supply chain base, but then also there's the Chinese consumer. So there are actually several reasons why companies want to be here," said Michael Hart, president of AmCham China.
Foreign-funded companies step up investment in China
