Global Times reporter interviews China Development Forum 2026 annual meeting, listens to global CEO talk about 'new opportunities for China's development'

The 2026 Annual Meeting of the China Development Forum will be held in Beijing from March 22nd to 23rd. This year marks the beginning of China's 15th Five Year Plan. At this critical juncture, leaders of multinational corporations from around the world have once again gathered to engage in in-depth exchanges on topics such as market opportunities, industrial cooperation, and innovative development in China. Against the backdrop of a difficult global economic recovery and complex geopolitical changes, many foreign executives have stated that they will continue to deeply cultivate the Chinese market, rely on China's industrial advantages, policy environment, and innovative vitality, and achieve a win-win situation between themselves and the Chinese market.

Opportunities are in the present moment

We have over 70000 employees worldwide, with a Chinese team of over 8000 people, ranking third in the world after Germany and the United States. This fully demonstrates the strategic importance of the Chinese market, "said Meng Tianqi, CEO of Siemens Healthineers, in an interview with Global Times." The opportunity is right now. "He believes that China has made remarkable achievements in building an efficient healthcare system and improving life expectancy, which is admirable. In the future, the importance of Chinese R&D teams will further increase.

China is an important engine of global economic growth, with a vast market and a large and rapidly growing economy. China's outstanding competitive advantages and broad development prospects have strengthened Schneider Electric's confidence in deeply cultivating China, prompting us to regard China as a key part of our global layout. Zhao Guohua, Chairman of Schneider Electric Group, frankly stated to Global Times reporters that in the past 20 years, the company has always adhered to the "China Center" strategy, based on talent and innovation as the engine, built an agile system integrating research, production, and sales, continuously launched advanced automation, electrification, and digital integration products and solutions, and accelerated the large-scale industrial application of AI technology.

As a representative of Southeast Asian companies attending the conference, Tiansi Group is taking practical actions to promote regional economic integration and coordinated development of consumption. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, Tiansi Group has invested a total of 4.36 billion yuan in China. The CEO of the group, Xu Xinxiong, expressed his expectation for China to further deepen its institutional opening-up, promote efficient integration of global high-quality resources with China's super large market, and expand consumption growth space through open collaboration.

Foreign funded enterprises in China keenly capture policy signals

The stability and predictability of policies are key factors in attracting foreign companies to continue investing in China. Dai Pu, Co President of the Roland Berger Global Management Committee, stated that in the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, a series of targeted policies to boost consumption have been implemented, and the vitality of the Chinese market has accelerated. Local service industries such as healthcare, digital services, and education services are highly open to foreign investment, becoming new hotspots for foreign companies to expand their presence. He emphasized that in the current geopolitical environment, China and Europe need to establish a new cooperation model to achieve balanced development of two-way investment.

Novartis CEO Wan Sihan has participated in the China Development Forum for the eighth time. He stated that China's determination to adhere to high-level opening up to the outside world, as well as the continuous creation of a friendly innovation ecology and a safe and stable market environment, have continuously improved the stability and predictability of investment in China, and further enhanced the confidence of enterprises to carry out long-term cooperation.

The President and CEO of Siemens AG in Germany, Boleren, believes that China's "15th Five Year Plan" outline is highly visionary. Among them, the "Artificial Intelligence+" initiative will give rise to profound industrial changes, and Siemens is willing to integrate into China's local production system to assist in the digital and intelligent upgrading of Chinese industries.

In the consumer sector, Sheng Depu, Chief Growth Officer and International Business President of Taipeisiqi Group, stated in an interview with Global Times that China's policy measures to boost consumption are highly aligned with the group's strategy. We see that young consumers are becoming more rational and their attitudes towards consumption are becoming increasingly cautious. However, brands that can resonate with them and establish emotional connections can still achieve excellent performance. We have achieved strong growth in the Chinese market and see vast opportunities for further investment

Every place can feel the vitality and open atmosphere of the Chinese market

In the field of innovation cooperation, multinational enterprises are accelerating their investment layout in China. Mercedes Benz Group Chairman Kang Linsong told Global Times reporters that China's vibrant innovation ecosystem is the most attractive core element for enterprises. Currently, Mercedes Benz is investing heavily in new product research and development, deepening cooperation with large Chinese technology companies and emerging startups, focusing on the Chinese market to carry out innovation, and promoting China's innovation achievements to the world.

Volkswagen Group's Chairman of the Board of Management, Obomu, said, "In the fields of electric mobility, digitalization, and intelligent mobility solutions, Volkswagen's cooperation with Chinese partners has strengthened our innovation capabilities in China and globally. Today, Volkswagen Group remains the strongest foreign car company in the Chinese market, and we hope to continue to consolidate this position in the future

German chemical giant BASF Group is also full of expectations for the growth potential of the Chinese market. Chairman of its Executive Board, Kelly, told Global Times reporters that China is one of the world's largest chemical markets and a core growth pole for BASF's medium - to long-term development. Investing in China and growing together with Chinese customers is the company's unchanged strategy. I travel back and forth to China all year round, from policy communication in Beijing to operational bases in Nanjing and Shanghai, and even to the future layout in Guangdong. Every place can feel the vitality and open atmosphere of the Chinese market

Kaili revealed that he will come to China at least twice this year to support his team in achieving sustained profit growth. He paid special attention to the explosive growth of emerging industries in China, as well as the rapid development of fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, and low altitude economy. This has given BASF a broad space for cooperation. Currently, the company has established a complete cooperation ecosystem with Chinese universities, startups, and industrial leaders, deeply integrating into the Chinese innovation system.

It is worth mentioning that while foreign executives are paying attention to investment opportunities in China, they are also increasingly seeing the development of China's soft power. Dai Pu told reporters that Chinese products like Labubu have gained countless foreign young fans by going global, which is a manifestation of China's soft power playing a role, and behind it lies important economic significance. From the data, it can be seen that the younger generation overseas really think Chinese products are cool. They have both super cool hardcore technologies like drones and electric cars, as well as charming cultural products