Why have they all cast a vote of confidence in the Chinese economy? Market | China | Economy
Recently, Bill Gates' visit to China has attracted widespread attention. This is his 18th visit to China and his return to China after four years.
In fact, before Gates, many multinational executives had already flocked in.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, Tesla CEO Musk, ADM Chairman, President and CEO Juan Luciano, Rio Tinto Group Chief Business Officer Bai Ruiming, Saudi Aramco's interim Asia President Mutib Halabi, and others are competing to visit China.
Business people shuttle back and forth, essentially casting a vote of trust in the Chinese economy.
For the global economy, 2023 is recognized as a year of increased uncertainty. The United Nations recently released a mid year update report on the World Economic Situation and Outlook, which shows that the world economy is facing the risk of long-term low growth due to factors such as the ongoing impact of the pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine, climate change, and changes in macroeconomic conditions. Not only have developed countries in Europe and America been in poor conditions recently, but even Vietnam, which has been quite impressive in recent years, has seen a continuous decline in foreign trade.
On the other hand, although China also faces pressure and challenges, since the comprehensive restoration of normal economic and social operation, macroeconomic policies have been synergistically implemented, and the economic operation has been steadily improving, with high-quality development steadily advancing. "The recently released economic performance data for May has proven this point. The gradual increase in consumer driving force, the accumulation of innovation momentum, and the continued manifestation of the dividends of reform and opening up have provided strong support for the economy to achieve its expected annual development goals." said Wu Sa, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics at the China Academy of Macroeconomics.
In business, mature investments often seek long-term stable returns. In terms of foreign investment, the "long-term" manifestation of the Chinese market is that no matter how the international situation changes, China's determination to expand high-level opening up will not change, and its willingness to provide more market opportunities, investment opportunities, and growth opportunities for the world will not change. Starbucks has set a goal of opening 9000 stores in China by 2025 and will continue to invest in China, making it the world's largest market for Starbucks in the future; Tesla announced the construction of an energy storage super factory in Lingang, Shanghai; Siemens Medical has invested over 1 billion yuan in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong to build a new high-end medical equipment research and manufacturing base... A series of increased investments fully demonstrate the long-term significance.
According to Yang Changyong, a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Economics at the China Academy of Macroeconomics, the attractiveness of the Chinese market to foreign investment is embedded in the upgrading of consumption structure. "We are shifting more from commodity consumption to service consumption, such as green consumption, information consumption, digital consumption, etc. We are also more inclined towards higher quality mid to high end products. This structural upgrading of consumption is attractive enough for multinational corporations."
"In the long run, China is accelerating the construction of a unified national market, breaking down various obstacles that hinder market development and factor flow, and building a more effective market competition pattern. For multinational corporations, this is an important opportunity," said Yang Changyong.
And "stability" is closely linked to the supply chain. Through continuous consolidation and development of the world's most comprehensive industrial categories, China has become the only country in the world with a full manufacturing industry chain, capable of producing everything from daily necessities such as needles, thread and brain, to heavy weapons such as aircraft carriers and airplanes. China's position in the global industrial and supply chain landscape is stable. Having a complete industrial system, obvious advantages in infrastructure, industrial supporting capabilities, and professional talents, the business environment continues to optimize, and the attractiveness of the super large scale market continues to increase.
This kind of Chinese market is an undeniable presence for multinational companies that need to rebuild their global supply chains.
Recently, China announced that it will hold the first China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo from November 28th to December 2nd this year, and stated that the number of cooperation between enterprises in the industrial chain will be one of the main indicators to test the effectiveness of the exhibition. There is a detail worth paying attention to. Currently, among the confirmed foreign companies participating in the exhibition, the largest number is from the United States. Obviously, they hope to seize this rare opportunity and accelerate their layout in the Chinese market.
The details reveal profound meaning - China represents opportunities, and walking with China is walking with opportunities. Investing in China is about investing in a mutually beneficial future.
