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Foreign firms upbeat about investing in innovative China : Economic Watch
BEIJING, Nov. 23, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – “We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact
that China’s GDP is still growing at a 6-percent level, and businessmen look
at that as an immense opportunity,” said Mike Roman, chairman and chief
executive officer of 3M Company at the ongoing New Economy Forum held in
Beijing.
3M, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Corporation,
opened its fifth Design Center in Shanghai this year, after those in the
United States, Italy, Japan and India.
Founded in the United States during the early 20th century, 3M built its
first subsidiary in China in 1984 and it now has nine manufacture facilities
across the country, plus four technical support centers and one research and
development center, employing more than 8,200 people.
Asia is a regional hub for supply chains, and it will become even more
important for multinationals to be close to the consumer market emerging
here, Roman said.
Instead of building investment-heavy plants in the United States or
European countries, the company is starting to build much smaller plants and
regional hubs in different parts of the world, Roman added.
Roman’s view was echoed by Daniel Martinez-Valle, chief executive officer
of Mexico-based company Orbia. He told the forum that the production capacity
and logistics capability of China are superb, and it is hard to replicate
that anywhere else in the world.
Although the lingering trade dispute has caused some foreign companies to
be more cautious about investment decisions, most of them are sticking to the
Chinese market and supply chains.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland expanded 6.6
percent year on year to 752.41 billion yuan (about 107.02 billion U.S.
dollars) in the first 10 months of the year, data from the Ministry of
Commerce (MOC) showed.
MOC official Zong Changqing said China’s FDI inflow had been stable and
featured more major projects as well as improved structure in the January-
October period.
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Though a few export-oriented and low value-added firms chose to relocate
their production elsewhere, their moves were driven by the market and should
be seen as normal behavior, Zong said.
According to the Shanghai municipal government, the total number of
foreign-funded research and development centers and regional headquarters of
multinational corporations in the city reached 1,163, showing the strong
confidence multinationals hold in expanding their foothold in the Chinese
market.
The new areas of interest and cooperation include China’s increasing
innovation prowess and its demand for environmental technologies, and foreign
companies are all keen to be part of these developments, said the municipal
government.
Earlier this month, the State Council issued a guideline on better using
foreign investment with a focus on safeguarding the national treatment of
foreign-funded enterprises. The guideline puts forward 20 policies in four
aspects to create a more fair, transparent and predictable business
environment for foreign investors.
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