Exploring China's High Quality Development from the Perspective of Structural Changes in Attracting Foreign Investment

There is a saying among foreign-funded enterprises that the Chinese market is a "global fitness center", and success here is necessary to stand out in the global market. China is the core of the future manufacturing industry, and if it does not adapt, it will be eliminated. Neglecting the Chinese market will lead to global defeat. Giving up the Chinese market is equivalent to giving up the ticket to growth in the next 10 years. These voices reflect the new position of the Chinese economy in the world economic map - not only as a big player, but also at the forefront of transformation and development.

In November of this year, China's actual use of foreign investment increased by 26.1% year-on-year; In the first 11 months, 61207 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%; As of the end of June this year, China's actual use of foreign investment during the 14th Five Year Plan period has reached a total of 708.73 billion US dollars, achieving the target of attracting 700 billion US dollars six months ahead of schedule. This transcript was not easily obtained and was achieved in the face of complex external challenges. In recent years, the external environment for global utilization of foreign investment has become increasingly tight, and the value chain has undergone a certain degree of restructuring. However, the overall pattern of China attracting foreign investment with resilience and a positive structure is very clear, and it has always been a favored investment destination for foreign investment.

Upon closer examination of the data, a clear trend can be captured: foreign investment is intensively entering industries that represent the direction of China's economic transformation and upgrading. In the first 11 months of this year, the actual use of foreign investment in China's high-tech industry was 221.26 billion yuan, accounting for a significant proportion of the total actual use of foreign investment. The actual use of foreign investment in the e-commerce service industry, medical equipment and device manufacturing industry, and aerospace and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 127%, 46.5%, and 41.9%, respectively. From this, it can be seen that China's structure for attracting foreign investment is continuously moving towards a new and optimal direction.

Behind the macro data, there are micro stories of foreign-funded enterprises rediscovering opportunities in China. The innovation speed in the Chinese market has greatly stimulated our creativity, "said a German company executive. According to internal estimates, there is a breakthrough in the Chinese automotive industry every 6 months, which has driven the company to invest in a new factory every 10 months on average over the past 10 years. In recent years, foreign investment has intensified its layout in the Chinese market, focusing on emerging fields such as precision positioning artificial intelligence, new energy, biomedicine, and green transformation. The largest production base of Danish company Danfoss in China, Zhejiang Haiyan Second Park, has officially been put into use. Volkswagen Group's first full process R&D and testing center outside of China has been completed in Hefei, Anhui. Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has announced its investment in building a new biopharmaceutical production base in China... These are precisely the confidence votes that foreign-funded enterprises have cast for the improvement of China's development quality.

The attractiveness of foreign investment ultimately depends on internal cultivation. An open innovation ecosystem, a complete industrial system, and rich application scenarios are all the core attractions of China for foreign investment at present. More and more multinational companies have established regional headquarters and global R&D centers in China, and their R&D investment continues to expand. The report "Multinational Companies in China" released by the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce of China this year shows that from 2013 to 2023, the R&D expenses of multinational companies in China increased by 86.5%. Behind the transformation of cooperation models from the initial technology transfer and OEM production to the current joint research and development and co construction of industrial ecology is the subtle upgrade of China's economic development and opportunities. Foreign funded enterprises are closely following China's development trends and actively aligning with the latest policies, in order to seize opportunities of the times and lay out the future of industries. The environmentally friendly switch cabinet without sulfur hexafluoride, developed by Schneider Electric in France with the participation of a Chinese team, made its debut at the CIIE and is now widely used in the global market; As of 2023, Chinese innovative products account for 15% of Bayer's global innovative products in the health consumer goods market... Multinational corporations and Chinese industries collaborate on innovation and mutually empower each other, providing support for enhancing their global competitiveness.

Walking with China is walking with opportunities, believing in China is believing in tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future. The 15th Five Year Plan proposes new arrangements for "shaping new advantages in attracting foreign investment". With the gradual implementation of favorable policies and the continuous optimization of the business environment, China's high-quality development will undoubtedly bring broader opportunities for foreign-funded enterprises.