The skyline of Lujiazui in Shanghai Photo: CFP

Foreign enterprises have faith in China's comprehensive competitive advantages and its market size, and global conglomerates maintain a strong confidence in China given the country's vast consumption potential. 

McDonald's China is expected to speed up its expansion within China, and continue to make long-term investments, a top executive from the world's largest fast-food chain said.

McDonald's China CEO Phyllis Cheung said the number of McDonald's restaurants in China reached 5,000 at the end of last year, more than doubling from 2017. In 2023, it is expected to add a further 900 new outlets, with a new restaurant opening on average every 10 hours.

Cheung made the remarks at the annual McBanquet event held on Friday. McDonald's China announced to launch a regenerative agriculture plan, joining hands with nine key suppliers including Bimbo QSR, Cargill and GSF. The company said it procures about 300 ingredients from local market every year, of which over two thirds are supplied by the nine suppliers.

Over the past three years, the epidemic has placed some pressure on catering and online sales, but "we are very pleased to see that the business in the first quarter has picked up, and we have also clearly seen that overall consumption and the flow of people have showed a fast recovery", she added. 

"We are optimistic about the Chinese market over the long term," Cheung said.

A promising investment prospects, high returns and an excellent environment have turbocharged investment by foreign enterprises in China. 

Last year was also a record-breaking year for luxury car deliveries. Lamborghini recorded its highest ever number of vehicles delivered, selling more than 9,000 cars for the first time in its history. The signs were positive across all macro-areas, with distribution remaining even and consistent with Lamborghini's go-to-market strategy. 

Lamborghini deliveries in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao hit 1,018 units, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year, ranking the second after the US in terms of the growth rate.  

"It is not easy to have such achievement given the epidemic, the increase has shown the potential of Chinese market, and the government's efforts to drive up the economy also give us confidence in China," Stephan Winkelmann, Chairman and CEO of Lamborghini, told the Global Times in a recent interview. 

Currently, China is the second largest single market for Lamborghini in terms of market size, and "we believe it will remain the position in 2023", Winkelmann added. 

He also said that the Lamborghini brand has a large number of loyal fans in the Chinese market, and the Chinese car fan community is also growing, which is also driving the market growth. 

Chinese Lamborghini customers are generally young, among the youngest in the world. This is a very good thing for Lamborghini, because "we can grow together with them", Winkelmann added.  

Lamborghini said its turnover reached €2.38 billion ($2.56 billion) in 2022, marking an increase of 22 percent over 2021. It offers a tangible demonstration of the exceptional work carried out and underlines the company's exponential growth. 

The ground-breaking operating margin of 25.9 percent was a best-in-class result in Lamborghini's market and put it right at the top of the luxury vehicle market. It translates into operating income of €614 million, which is 56 percent more than the record-breaking year of 2021. In addition, in 2022 there was an increase in the operating margin for a fifth consecutive year, setting another milestone for the company.

China's actual use of foreign direct investment rose 10 percent year-on-year to $19.02 billion in January, with high-tech manufacturing sector showing particular attractiveness, official data showed.

The Chinese government also reiterated China's commitment to opening-up, and China will continue to create new opportunities for a world that has been derailed by regional conflicts and upheavals.

Global Times