Multinational corporations continue to increase investment in China - 'The Chinese market is a necessary option'
In the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, China has continuously attracted foreign-funded enterprises to increase capital and expand production with a stable economic foundation, a continuously optimized business environment, and accelerated release of innovative momentum. China supports multinational corporations to invest and develop healthily in China, and jointly create a beautiful future of cooperation and win-win outcomes. The representative of foreign companies in China interviewed by our reporter believes that the growth and stability of the Chinese market are obvious, and new demands are accelerating, making it a "must-have" place for multinational companies to layout their future.
Strong resilience: The super large market has strong attraction
From January to May this year, China's production and supply remained stable with a slight increase, employment and prices remained overall stable, foreign trade resilience continued to be demonstrated, new driving forces grew and strengthened, and the national economy continued to develop steadily and towards a new and better direction. China has provided valuable stable expectations for the world with the certainty of high-quality development, attracting foreign-funded enterprises to continue to increase their presence in China.
In the first half of the year, Schneider Electric's Beijing Yizhuang Industrial Park completed its expansion and was awarded the title of "Sustainable Lighthouse Factory" by the World Economic Forum. The newly built Xiamen Industrial Park is about to be put into operation. As an important engine of global economic growth, China's super large market and complete industrial system support each other, providing Schneider Electric with broad development space and a solid industrial chain foundation. Yin Zheng, Executive Vice President of Schneider Electric and President of China and East Asia, stated that on the one hand, China's super large market contains rich application scenarios and strong innovation needs, especially the deep integration of energy transformation and AI development, which prompts enterprises to continuously increase research and development investment and accelerate technological innovation; On the other hand, a complete industrial system provides an efficient and collaborative supply chain, supporting enterprises to shorten the cycle from research and development to delivery, and quickly push innovative achievements to the market.
American power semiconductor manufacturer ON Semiconductor announced the establishment of its Greater China headquarters in Shanghai to strengthen local decision-making and innovation capabilities. In the next three years, it will invest approximately $50 million in China for research and development, manufacturing collaboration, and local ecological construction; Skyfield Electronics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., a system supplier in the electronic manufacturing and communication field headquartered in Finland, has laid the foundation for its second phase expansion project. It plans to build a new factory of about 20000 square meters, integrating modernization, intelligence, and sustainability... In the first five months of this year, more than 25000 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%. Nearly 4000 foreign-invested enterprises have increased their investment in China, and the speed of capital increase, investment density, and landing efficiency have all maintained high levels of operation.
In the face of various challenges, the Chinese economy has shown strong resilience, "said Zou Jun, Chairman of KPMG China. Recently, the Chinese economy has released a" report card "in various fields such as infrastructure, foreign trade, and technological innovation from January to May, and" increasing investment in China "has become a broad consensus among market participants. This not only reflects the market's recognition of the resilience of the Chinese economy, but also provides important support for global enterprises to achieve prosperous development in uncertainty.
In the rapidly developing and changing world, stability and predictability are important advantages for China, "said Christian Rommel, Global Executive Vice President of Bayer's Prescription Medicine Division. China's advantages in foresight and innovation are gradually becoming prominent, and Bayer regards China as a core strategic market and important partner for global pharmaceutical innovation, continuously building a pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem of" industry, academia, research, innovation, and investment ".
New Momentum: Moving from the 'World Factory' to the 'Innovation Highland'
In June of this year, the Purchasing Managers' Index of China's high-tech manufacturing industry was 53.5%, significantly higher than the overall manufacturing industry. The development of high-end manufacturing continues to improve, and its leading role is further enhanced. China continues to promote intelligence, greening, and integration, and new driving forces for development are steadily increasing. The transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry, the continuous transformation of old and new driving forces, and the accelerated improvement of technological innovation capabilities... From the "world factory" to the "world market" and "innovation highland", China's competitiveness continues to soar.
In the first half of 2026, Tesla delivered a total of 838000 electric vehicles worldwide, with over half of them coming from Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory. Tesla Vice President Tao Lin stated that the Shanghai Gigafactory is an important production base and export center for Tesla globally, with stable supply of export models to dozens of markets in Asia Pacific and Europe; The models led by the Chinese R&D team are not only popular in the domestic market, but have also been delivered in multiple markets such as South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia, with supply exceeding demand. The demand in the Chinese market is iterating rapidly and the application scenarios are diverse. The capabilities of local engineering and innovation teams are gradually feeding back to the world.
In the "2026 Global Competitiveness Report" recently released by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, China's ranking has risen to 12th place. International business people generally believe that China's unique advantages in scale and rapid innovation will become an important foundation for the "China Opportunity 2.0". While China provides greater "market dividends" to the world, it also contributes an increasing "innovation dividend".
In March of this year, Philips released a new intelligent simulated positioning CT based on clinical needs in China, developed by the Shenyang Innovation Center and manufactured at the Suzhou production base. It has now achieved global debut in China and will gradually serve the global market. At present, Philips has established five innovation centers and five major manufacturing bases in China, forming an end-to-end innovation system covering research and development, manufacturing, supply chain, and services. "China is accelerating the construction of a globally competitive innovation system, with rich clinical scenarios, an open innovation ecosystem, a sound industrial chain and talent system, which provides a broad space for multinational enterprises to carry out local innovation and promote global innovation." Liu Ling, a member of the Philips Global Executive Committee and president of Greater China, said that the company will continue to deepen its efforts in China, relying on an open innovation ecosystem, so that more innovation achievements from China can accelerate to go global.
In the first quarter of 2026, L'Oreal China achieved mid to high single digit growth, significantly accelerating compared to last year. In terms of scale, growth rate, and market activity, the Chinese consumer market is at the forefront, "said Bo Wanshang, President of L'Oreal North Asia and CEO of L'Oreal China. During the" 15th Five Year Plan "period, the Chinese market not only provided foreign companies with market dividends, but also opportunities driven by consumption upgrading, innovative ecology, digital empowerment, and open cooperation." L'Oreal has always been deeply rooted in China with firm confidence and long-term commitment, firmly believing that investing in China is investing in the future.
"China is not only a global manufacturing center, but also a high-quality innovation soil and conditions. It is one of the global medical science and technology innovation engines. GE Healthcare adheres to the innovation path of deep co creation with the global R&D system, starting from China's needs." Song Weiqun, global executive vice president of GE Healthcare, president and CEO of Greater China, said that at the end of last year, the R&D and Innovation Center of GE Medical Magnetic Resonance Eastern Hemisphere Headquarters located in Tianjin Base was officially put into operation, forming four innovation fulcrums with Beijing, Shanghai and Wuxi, Jiangsu, which were previously deployed, and building a local innovation system with full production lines and links in China.
Great potential: The dividends of open policies continue to be released
According to the 2026 China Business Environment Survey released by the US China Business Council, 92% of surveyed companies stated that their business in China will achieve profitability by 2025; The "2026 Business Confidence Survey" released by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China shows that 75% of enterprises believe that their production efficiency in China is higher than other regions in the world... China is firmly committed to promoting high-level opening up to the outside world, insisting on sharing cutting-edge technologies and achievements with other countries, enhancing resilience through open cooperation, and winning the future through common development.
China's steady economic growth, innovation driven development model, enormous market potential, and open business environment have jointly shaped a dynamic and diverse high potential market, further strengthening our confidence in long-term cultivation. Chen Jiayuan, CEO of Louis Dreyfus Group in North Asia, said that China is not only a strategic growth market for Louis Dreyfus Group, but also a forefront for enterprises to carry out technological innovation and advanced production. Louis Dreyfus looks forward to continuing to seize the development opportunities in the Chinese market, continuously strengthening local research and development, production and processing, and supply chain capabilities, working together with upstream and downstream partners to enhance the connectivity, stability, and long-term resilience of China's global agricultural and food supply chains.
In June of this year, the "Action Plan for Utilizing Foreign Investment to Stabilize and Promote Excellence" was released to the public, outlining a clear roadmap for China to attract foreign investment, stabilize stock, expand quantity, and improve quality through 15 measures. The action plan encourages and supports foreign-funded enterprises to deeply cultivate the Chinese market in the long term, allowing foreign-funded enterprises to invest and operate with peace of mind, reflecting China's unwavering determination to expand opening up. "Fang Mingjie, President of Thermo Fisher China, said that in the past five years, Thermo Fisher has invested nearly 1 billion yuan in research and development and production in China, and its local product line investment covers more than 30 core products, achieving Chinese manufacturing of chromatography platforms and spectral product lines. Facing the 15th Five Year Plan, Thermo Fisher Scientific will further deepen its local layout and continue to promote technological innovation in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, academic research, medical health, and application markets.
The Chinese market is a 'must-have' option. Whether it is a super large market, a complete and resilient supply chain, or a continuously released innovation momentum, it is difficult to find a 'second China'. Tao Lin said that Tesla is willing to continue to root in China, deeply cultivate China, and make Shanghai a global benchmark base for electric vehicles and energy storage collaboration, working with Chinese partners to achieve long-term mutual benefit and win-win results.