AI Photo: VCG

"US investors are going big on China AI," "foreign investors return to China's stock market," and "there's a tremendous amount of interest and intellectual curiosity." In recent days, the international community has been closely watching China's economic agenda, with media coverage frequently framed around keywords such as "growth," "stability," "investment," and "artificial intelligence (AI)." Since the beginning of this year, international capital has been flowing back into the Chinese market in a visible and sustained manner. There have been signals of increased foreign investment, the return of institutional investors, and greater allocations of long-term capital - particularly in emerging technology sectors such as AI. As early as February, the Financial Times published an article stating, "Is China investable again? The answer is yes, and it always was."

The collective rise of Chinese technology companies across multiple sectors reflects an explosive phase of growth after having passed through the formative phase. The return of international capital to Chinese technology assets reflects optimism about the transitional changes in Chinese companies, moving from capability accumulation to scale expansion and from localized breakthroughs to systemic competition. Behind this lies China's provision of stable policy support for the development of the AI industry, as well as its commitment to fundamentally strengthening its ability to attract and anchor high-quality global factor resources.

The recent Central Economic Work Conference set out key tasks including "advancing the AI Plus Initiative" and "improving AI governance," as well as "reforming and improving the systems for promoting foreign investment." Goals such as "accelerating innovation in digital and intelligent technologies such as AI" and "implementing policies that balance market access and business operations" and "further shortening market access negative list" have also been written into the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), outlining China's development priorities for the next five years. Together, these measures send a clear signal to the outside world: China's door to openness will only continue to open wider. The sustained increase in foreign investment in China is both a strong vote of confidence by international capital in China's economic prospects and a direct response to China's unwavering commitment to expanding opening-up.

Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has been operating steadily, with exports showing strong resilience and domestic demand growing steadily. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have both raised their forecasts for China's economic growth in 2025. The IMF managing director also stated that the 14th Five-Year Plan overall has met the objectives set in terms of growth and that China is projected to continue to contribute around 30 percent to global growth in the coming couple of years. Through continuously improving innovation capabilities, refining its industrial system, and maintaining stable and predictable macro governance, China provides an important and scarce value for global economic development - certainty.

In this sense, international capital values not only the temporary opportunities in specific industries but also the comprehensive advantages of China's economic development. China's complete industrial system and robust supporting capabilities mean that innovation can quickly transition into engineering, product development, and large-scale production. Additionally, China's rich application scenarios and high-density industrial clusters indicate that new technologies can not only be "created" but also "utilized," allowing for iterative optimization through extensive competition and collaboration. 

This closed-loop capability - from research and development to manufacturing and then to the market - is an underlying logic that any capital seeking certainty in global competition cannot afford to overlook. This comprehensive strength determines the depth of China's "real economy" and reflects the shift of the Chinese economy from "quantitative expansion" to "qualitative leap." 

China's comparative advantages are no longer based solely on the prices of individual factors; instead, they lie in systemic capabilities and supporting abilities. This includes the ability to connect research and development, manufacturing, logistics, markets, and application scenarios into a closed loop. Such investment opportunities are not easily found in the short term by international capital on a global scale.

The external attention to Chinese assets also reflects the world's judgment on future growth prospects. Currently, the foundation for global economic recovery is not solid. As geopolitical conflicts and financial volatility intertwine, and as the disruptive noises of protectionism and "decoupling" continue to affect the global economy, China has chosen to embrace the world through broader opening-up, deeper reforms, and higher-quality services. China insists on grounding its development in its own realities while promoting reform through opening-up and creating win-win outcomes through cooperation. This choice is not a stopgap measure but rather a respect for economic laws. Opening-up is not about giving up benefits, it is about expanding shared interests. Competition is not a zero-sum confrontation, it is about achieving mutual benefits through higher efficiency and better supply. 

The reason why international capital favors investing in the Chinese market and innovation is not a mystery. It stems from an accurate judgment of economic laws, a realistic comparison of development paths, and a rational calculation of future opportunities. China's development will not be diverted by external noise, nor will its opening-up be halted by short-term turbulence. 

Looking toward the 15th Five-Year Plan, China will provide the world with richer cooperation scenarios and more sustainable growth opportunities through stronger innovation capabilities, a more refined industrial system, and higher levels of opening-up. The choice of capital is an early affirmation of this trend and a proactive entry into this momentum.