Shandong signs $15.6b deals for 99 projects

The scale of foreign investment in China's manufacturing sector has increased steadily, and MNCs' business performance also continued to improve in China, boosting their confidence to sustain or increase their investment in the country, said Gu Xueming, president of the CAITEC.

With China underlining digitalization, green transformation and industrial upgrade, the manufacturing projects invested by MNCs in the country have tended to be large-scale in recent years, covering the whole industrial chain.

The CAITEC report also found that MNCs' investment in China's manufacturing sector has expanded from medium and low-level processors to the high end.

Foreign direct investment in China expanded 17.3 percent year-on-year to 564.2 billion yuan ($84.18 billion) in the first five months of 2022, while the nation saw growth rates of high-tech industries, high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services surge 42.7 percent, 32.9 percent and 45.4 percent, respectively, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce.

China has the potential to become a hotbed for research and development activities, especially for large MNCs. There is also enormous untapped potential in both trade in services and decarbonization in the country, according to Business Confidence Survey 2022, released by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China on Monday.

With a market of 1.4 billion consumers, some of the world's best manufacturing clusters and, in more recent years, a vibrant innovation ecosystem, China presents a growth story that European companies wish to be part of, the EU survey found.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish biopharmaceuticals producer, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has tested economies and societies to their limits around the world. Now more than ever before, we must work together, across industries and borders, with urgency and one shared goal, to create a healthier, stronger and more sustainable future for all."

AstraZeneca announced on Monday that it is planning to build a manufacturing and supply base, and regional headquarters, in Qingdao in the coming years.

Tao Lin, vice-president of Tesla Inc, a US electric vehicle manufacturer, said China's policies of stabilizing foreign investment and trade have generated great confidence among MNCs for future growth in the country.

（chinadaily.com.cn）