Showcasing the enormous attractiveness of the Chinese market!, This set of data is for China | enterprises | data

In the first half of this year, many developed countries maintained an increase in investment in China. Behind the continuous growth of data is the sustained optimism of multinational corporations towards the development prospects of the Chinese economy and their firm confidence in the Chinese market.

01

The attraction remains!

Developed countries maintain growth in investment in China

In the first half of this year, investment in China by France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany increased by 173.3%, 135.3%, 53.0%, and 14.2%, respectively. Foreign funded enterprises from various countries are continuously increasing their capital in China, focusing on building advanced industrial chains and upgrading innovation chains.

In Haiyan, Zhejiang, this US funded enterprise has increased its capital for the fifth time, investing 10 million US dollars to build a new energy vehicle electronic connector technology renovation project; In Nanjing, Jiangsu, this German funded enterprise invested 150 million US dollars to build a lean intelligent demonstration factory.

Gu Jiandang, President of Phoenix Investment Co., Ltd.: This time, we are transferring the production technology of all core components rooted in Germany to China, and will build a super factory with a full value chain.

Recently, this French company has also set up its headquarters in Shanghai to upgrade its capabilities and expand investment in hydrogen energy projects.

Bai Lisong, General Manager of Foggia Hydrogen China: We have been continuously investing in China for a long time, and the establishment of our headquarters in Jiading, Shanghai will be an important step in our investment. We will continue to provide more new hydrogen products for the Chinese market to help China achieve its "dual carbon" goals.

Recently, up to 77 foreign-funded projects have signed contracts in Shanghai with a total investment of 10.24 billion US dollars, focusing on key industries such as biomedicine, electronic information, and automobiles, as well as new tracks such as digital economy and green low-carbon. In the first half of this year, 13 multinational companies officially established their research and development centers in Shanghai.

Tang Zhe, Chief Financial Officer of Bokai Machinery Asia Pacific: We will continue to invest in China, especially in the automation and digital industries.

Since the beginning of this year, the world economy has slowed down and global cross-border investment has been sluggish. The 2023 World Investment Report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development recently showed that global cross-border investment decreased by 12% last year. Due to multiple factors, global foreign direct investment continues to face downward pressure this year.

However, in this context, executives of multinational corporations have come to China to seek new development opportunities, continue to intensify their efforts in China, and deeply cultivate the Chinese market. Foreign investment continues to have a positive outlook on China's development prospects, and the overall trend of expanding investment in China has not changed.

02

Accumulate new vitality!

The number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises increased by 35.7% in the first half of the year

In the first half of this year, China strengthened its investment promotion efforts. In the first half of the year, 24000 new foreign-invested enterprises were established, an increase of 35.7%. The rapid growth in the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises reflects that China is accumulating new vitality in attracting foreign investment.

This year, the Ministry of Commerce launched a series of activities called "Investment in China Year", showcasing the business environment and investment opportunities in various regions of China through activities such as "going out" and "bringing in", and polishing the "golden signboard" of "investing in China". As of now, a total of 14 key activities for the "Investment in China Year" have been held, during which various regions have continuously increased their efforts in attracting investment. According to incomplete statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, there are more than 2900 foreign investment projects being discussed in various regions.

In addition to attracting active water through activities, China's 21 pilot free trade zones also build a "capital attraction highland" through institutional openness, striving to create a market-oriented, legal, and international first-class business environment, and attracting more newly established foreign-funded enterprises to settle in China.

This Japanese currency brokerage company only took 13 months from preparation to opening, thanks to the convenience and service guarantee provided by the Beijing Pilot Free Trade Zone for the establishment of foreign-funded enterprises.

An Gang, Vice President of Ueda Yagi Company: One is to quickly let such a new company settle down, the other is some preferential measures for financial institutions to settle down. For example, some subsidies for renting houses at the initial stage of enterprise settlement, especially when recruiting employees in Beijing, give us certain registered residence indicators, and give us certain convenience for handling residence permits.

In the first half of this year, the actual use of foreign investment in 21 pilot free trade zones reached 129.66 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%. The pilot free trade zone has achieved 18.4% of foreign investment in the country with less than 4% of its land area.

The Ministry of Commerce recently stated that it will also introduce policies to further optimize the environment for foreign investment, promote the rational reduction of the negative list of foreign investment access, and enable more multinational enterprises to share the benefits of China's vast market and open development.

03

Build hard power!

Investment attraction in high-tech manufacturing increased by 28.8%

In the first half of this year, the quality of investment attraction in China continued to improve, and the investment attraction in high-tech industries grew rapidly. Among them, the investment attraction in high-tech manufacturing industry achieved nearly 30% growth. What are the industry and policy driving forces behind this?

The reporter visited the Suzhou Industrial Park, a cross-border co construction park jointly established by China and Singapore, and saw a large number of foreign-funded enterprises in advanced manufacturing industries such as artificial intelligence and biomedicine gathered here.

In an office building, Singaporean Wu Youren is leading a team to develop a software application for a new product. This company with over 20 employees is mainly engaged in the production of industrial visual inspection equipment. For Wu Youren, although the company was founded only 2 years ago, its growth rate was so fast that even he himself did not expect it.

Wu Youren, founder of Elemental Optoelectronic Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.: For me, the size of the Chinese market is that of Europe, and the size of the Singapore market is that of a city in a European country. So, the market will be larger, involving various industries and industries, with a very high demand. The application of these technologies will be increasing. So I think China is a huge market.

Why did Wu Youren choose to establish a business here from Singapore to Suzhou?

The reporter found that the Suzhou Industrial Park established the "New Research Enterprise Cooperation Center" in 2020, jointly established by the Singapore Science and Technology Research Bureau and the Suzhou Industrial Park Management Committee, which can "one-stop" help Singaporean enterprises to explore the market in China.

Chen Quancheng, Director of the New Research Enterprise Cooperation Center: Technologies from Singapore enter the Chinese market and pair with these Chinese enterprises to serve other upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain. They can grow faster, access more information, and have access to more high-quality research institutions and talents.

Through the "New Research Enterprise Cooperation Center", Wu Youren's enterprise, after landing in Suzhou Industrial Park in 2021, achieved a revenue of 1 million yuan that year and increased to 3 million yuan the following year. For the past three years, the "New Research Enterprise Cooperation Center" has not only helped companies form teams and screen projects across borders, but also supported the rapid development of enterprises by providing incentive funds and providing business convenience. At present, more than 20 Singapore technology-based enterprises have settled in Suzhou Industrial Park.

Cheng Bin, Deputy Director of the Cooperation and Exchange Department of the Science and Technology Innovation Committee of Suzhou Industrial Park: These enterprises introduced from Singapore already have some industrialization foundation in Singapore. After setting up enterprises in our Suzhou Industrial Park, they can quickly drive some local enterprises to develop and grow, strengthen and supplement the chain, and then make our industrial chain bigger and stronger together.

By jointly building a science and technology innovation service platform with Singapore, Suzhou Industrial Park will introduce high-quality technology enterprises into the park. In the first half of this year, the actual investment in Suzhou Industrial Park increased by 21.8% year-on-year, and the investment in high-tech industries increased by 96.84% year-on-year. A series of foreign-funded projects with high value have landed one after another.