In meeting with MNCs’ top executives, president says investing in China is investing in the future

President Xi Jinping reassured a group of foreign multinational executives from the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America that China is committed to advancing reform and opening-up, adding that investing in China is investing in the future.

Xi made the remarks on March 28 during a meeting with more than 40 representatives of the international business community at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The meeting was the latest in a series of interactions between high-level Chinese officials and global CEOs, following the China Development Forum in Beijing, from March 23 to 24 and the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2025, which concluded in Hainan province on March 28.

“I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the foreign enterprises that have participated in and supported China’s development,” Xi told the executives from businesses from around the world.

President Xi attributed the twin miracles of rapid economic growth and enduring social stability that China has created over the past seven decades since the founding of the People’s Republic not only to the strong leadership of the CPC and the unity and hard work of the Chinese people but also to support and help from the international community, including the contribution of foreign businesses operating in China.

Thanks to reform and opening-up, and importantly to actively leveraging foreign capital, China was able to rapidly enter the global market and catch up with the times in great strides. Foreign businesses and investment in China have driven economic growth and employment, boosted technological and managerial progress, and facilitated reform and opening-up.

According to official statistics, nearly 1.24 million foreign-funded companies had been established in China by the end of last year, with paid-in foreign capital reaching 20.6 trillion yuan ($2.84 trillion).

Last year alone, some 60,000 foreign-invested companies were newly established in China, up 9.9 percent year-on-year.

Xi said that facts have proven that foreign-invested enterprises are important participants in China’s modernization drive, key players in China’s reform, opening-up, and innovation, and crucial participants in connecting China with the world and involving the country in economic globalization.

Throughout the process, foreign firms have in general received substantial returns, developed themselves, achieved mutual benefits and win-win results, and formed profound friendships with the Chinese people, he said.

Noting that opening-up is China’s fundamental policy, Xi told the business leaders that China is promoting high-standard opening-up and steadily expanding institutional opening-up with regard to rules, regulations, management, and standards.

China’s door of opening-up will only open wider and wider, and the policy of utilizing foreign investment has not changed and will not change, he said.

As the country is committed to high-quality development and accelerating green, digital, and intelligent transformation, and has a strong industrial support capacity, China can provide the best testing ground for the latest outcomes of the technological revolution and industrial transformation, Xi said.

Highlighting that China is the world’s second-largest consumer market and has the world’s largest middle-income population, the president said that China offers huge potential for investment and consumption.

China has developed sound regulations, policies, and procedures for foreign investment, promoted trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and made active efforts to foster a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized.

In July last year, the Communist Party of China held the third plenary session of its 20th Central Committee, laying out the roadmap and timetable for further reforming the management systems for inward and outward investment.

In February, China issued the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, putting forward 20 new measures to expand self-initiated opening-up in an orderly manner and boosting foreign investment. It will further expand its opening-up by focusing on lowering the market entry threshold, Xi said.

The country offers a vast stage for business development, vast market prospects, a stable policy outlook, and a secure environment, making it a favored choice for foreign investment and business operations.

China has been and will remain an ideal, secure, and promising destination for foreign investors. Partnering with China will bring more opportunities. Believing in China is believing in tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future, he said.

China will open up wider by focusing on lowering the threshold of market access; ensure equal national treatment for foreign businesses and uphold fair market competition; strengthen communication with foreign businesses, provide as much convenience as possible for them to trade and invest in China, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign businesses in accordance with the law.

At the same time, China will unswervingly pursue a path of peaceful development and strive to create an enabling environment for foreign businesses.

Xi told the business leaders that multilateralism is the inevitable choice for addressing difficulties and challenges facing the world, and economic globalization is an unstoppable historical trend. China upholds true multilateralism, promotes universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, actively participates in global economic governance, and is committed to building an open world economy.

Foreign enterprises, especially multinational corporations, play a crucial role and bear significant responsibilities in maintaining the global economic order, Xi said.

They are expected to safeguard the multilateral trading system, maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, protect the international environment for openness and cooperation, and advance economic globalization in the right direction.

President of the FedEx Corporation Rajesh Subramaniam, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG Ola Kallenius, Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi SA Paul Hudson, Executive Director of HSBC Holdings Plc. Georges Elhedery, President of Hitachi Ltd. Toshiaki Higashihara, President of SK Hynix Inc. Kwak Noh-jung, and President of Saudi Aramco Amin Nasser spoke at the meeting.

Ola Kallenius said the meeting showed that the “Chinese government addresses great importance on advancing high-level opening-up, its role in stabilizing the global economy and the foreign companies that invest in China, which is very encouraging”.

Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi, expressed his sincere appreciation to the Chinese government for the commitment to deepening reform and opening-up as well as for fostering an environment that supports innovation and long-term investment.

Some participants noted that amid growing protectionism, China has continuously expanded opening-up, injecting stability into the global economy, and become an oasis of certainty and a hot spot for investment and entrepreneurship. China’s development is the core driving force of the global economy, offering exciting, vast opportunities and growth potential.

Cao Desheng contributed to this story.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn