A panoramic view of the Binjiang New City in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province File photo: VCG

More than 70 percent of surveyed foreign-invested companies in China are optimistic of the growth in Chinese market in the coming five years, up 3.8 percentage points from the previous survey, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said on Sunday. 

Over half of the surveyed companies responded that the pull of Chinese market is increasing, up 2.9 percent, reflecting China's increasingly positive trade and business environment, Zhao Ping, a CCPIT spokesperson said at a press briefing. 

Zhao said that the number of foreign-invested firms which plan to increase investment in China expanded in March by 2.1 percent month-on-month.

Despite the US and EU's continuous pressuring of China, investors have maintained their confidence in the opportunities presented by the world's second largest economy.

CCPIT's survey data showed that over 60 percent of the surveyed companies from the EU stated that the investment profitability in the Chinese market would increase during the next five years, while more North American companies confirmed their willingness to increase investment in China, up 4.5 percentage points from the previous survey.

China's market has seen an uptick in foreign investment since the first quarter of 2024.

More than 12,000 foreign-invested companies were established in China in the first quarter of the year, up 20.7 percent year-on-year, with actual investment amounting to 301.67 billion yuan ($42.5 billion), up 41.7 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) showed.

The attractiveness of China's manufacturing sector to foreign investors is also increasing, the ministry said. 

In terms of investment structure, MOFCOM data showed that the actual foreign investment in China's manufacturing industry accounted for 26.9 percent in the first three months this year, up 2.3 percentage points year-on-year, while investment in high-tech manufacturing accounted for 12.5 percent, up 2.2 percentage points. 

Foreign companies have been continuously increasing the investment in research, production and sales in China, in a bid to further enhance its comprehensive strength in China.

Schneider Electric started the construction of its industrial park in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province in April, followed by several research centers such as digital power distribution set up in China last year. 

Our Xiamen industrial park will become an important R&D center, manufacturing center and supply chain base for the global medium-voltage market. In 2024, we will also launch the second phase of the power laboratory building in Shanghai. Meanwhile, more leading technical solutions will be launched on the upcoming 2024 Innovation Summit which will be held in Qingdao in early June, according to Yin Zheng, Executive Vice President of China & East Asia Operations, Schneider Electric.


Global Times