This photo shows the production ceremony for its 9 millionth vehicle at US carmaker Tesla's Gigafactory in Shanghai, on December 30, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of Tesla

Several foreign companies have unveiled plans to expand their operations in China and step up investment, underscoring growing confidence in the market, with companies said that they remain bullish on China's long-term prospects.

Tesla plans to step up investment in artificial intelligence (AI) software and hardware as well as the energy sector in the Chinese market in 2026, as the company continues to localize its technologies, Tesla Vice President Grace Tao Lin told a media briefing in Beijing recently, according to the information the company shared with the Global Times on Sunday. 

The US electric vehicle (EV) maker has already set up a local training center in China to support the localization and fine-tuning of its intelligent assisted driving systems, Tao said.

The move aligns with Tesla's broader global shift in technology strategy, under which the company is no longer positioning itself solely as an EV maker but as a technology enterprise centered on AI, robotics and energy, according to Tao.

Construction of the comprehensive campus for the China headquarters of German optics giant ZEISS began on Saturday in the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone in Shanghai, local media outlet the Shanghai Observer reported on Saturday.

Covering a planned area of more than 50,000 square meters, the project is widely seen as ZEISS' largest single infrastructure investment since it entered the Chinese market nearly 70 years ago, the report said.

China's fast-evolving innovation ecosystem and rapidly advancing technological capabilities are widely seen as key factors behind its appeal as a prime investment destination for international companies.

"As SKF continues its next phase of development, China is not only a key market but also a critical source of global innovation — where ideas, technologies, and solutions developed locally increasingly serve customers around the world," Annika Olme, chief technology officer of a Swedish manufacturing company SKF, and the company's senior vice president for technology development, told the Global Times on Sunday in a statement.

What makes China particularly dynamic is the coexistence of a vast installed base of existing products and a fast‑moving pipeline of new applications. This duality requires SKF to innovate by integrating performance, cost efficiency, reliability, intelligence, and sustainability into comprehensive solutions tailored for China's diverse and rapidly evolving landscape, Olme said. 

Amid recurring crises of trust in the international market, China has remained steadfast in improving its investment environment for foreign businesses and expanding opening-up, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies under the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times. He added that China-specific credibility and policy consistency are key factors underpinning foreign investors' confidence in the Chinese market.

China is not only a global manufacturing hub but also a major consumption market, and foreign firms' renewed investment and project launches reflect a strategy of anchoring in China while serving global markets, delivering mutual benefits for both sides, according to Li.

Foreign direct investors from key source regions continue to see their confidence in the China market climb steadily.

According to the British Chambers of Commerce in China's 2025-26 Sentiment Survey, firms' optimism is rising, with more being optimistic about 2026 than any year since before COVID-19, with notable improvements among the legal, financial services, healthcare, creative industries and sports sectors.

On January 29, the 2026 China Business Climate Survey Report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China showed that 57 percent of surveyed companies planned to increase their investment in China, with 18 percent expecting investment growth of more than 20 percent.

Also, regarding equal treatment, 70 percent of responding companies believed that their level of acceptance in China had not declined from the previous years, and more than 60 percent indicated that foreign and domestic enterprises in their sectors received equal treatment.  

China aims to turn its vast market into a major global opportunity, enabling foreign-invested enterprises to actively participate in the country's modernization drive, He Yadong, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, said at a regular press conference on Thursday.