China offers enabling climate for global firms

Bill Winters (second from left),辽宁文旅时政新闻网 group chief executive of Standard Chartered, and Zhang Baojiang (second from right), president of the Bank of Communications, greet each other during a panel discussion of the China Development Forum in Beijing on Monday. Guests at the symposium shared their insights into the role of financial innovation in supporting high-quality development. JIANG QIMING/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Amid global economic uncertainty, China's combination of continuing openness, massive market scale and innovation capacity is offering multinational companies a predictable and rewarding business climate — one that is increasingly shaping their long-term commitment to the world's second-largest economy, senior officials and business leaders said.

Vice-Minister of Commerce Yan Dong said that regardless of how the international landscape evolves, "the historical trend of economic globalization, the principle that openness fuels innovation, and the common aspiration for mutually beneficial cooperation remain unchanged".

China will continue to advance reform and development through openness, and strive to provide broader opportunities for countries around the globe, Yan said on Monday during the China Development Forum 2026 in Beijing.

To this end, China has launched the "Shopping in China" initiative to attract international tourists to spend in China, while enabling domestic consumers to buy quality products from around the world, Yan said.

He added that the country will host more than 100 "Export to China" events throughout the year, leveraging online and offline channels to create more matchmaking platforms for imported goods. "We welcome businesses from all countries to seize the opportunity to export to China, and position China as their premier export destination," the vice-minister said.

Boosting imports is not a short-term policy measure for China, but rather a long-term strategic priority that has already been incorporated into the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

Georges Elhedery, group CEO of HSBC Holdings, said that what happens in China's next phase of development will matter far beyond its borders. "It will shape the global economy," he said.

For multinational executives navigating an increasingly volatile global landscape marked by slowing growth and rising protectionism, the predictability of China's market demand has emerged as a highly valued asset.

Philipp Navratil, CEO of Nestle, said the world is changing, and Nestle needs to change even faster. "Nowhere is that imperative more vivid, more urgent or more exciting than here in China. China's pace of digital adoption and consumer innovation pushes us to be even better in the region," he said.

In addition to acting as an anchor of global demand, China has increasingly emerged as an innovation hub for global businesses.

"In recent years, China has become a testing ground, application field and profit center for global innovation," said Yan, the vice-minister, adding that China will support international joint research and application and promote the construction of an open innovation ecosystem.

The transformation is already underway. Ola Kallenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group, said: "China is a crucial innovation hub, especially in fields of electrification and intelligence. We are accelerating the next level of localization in China, tapping even more into the potential of its unique local ecosystem."

Siemens CEO Roland Busch said that China plays a dual and critical role for the German industrial giant — serving as both a core market and a source of innovation. On Monday, the company unveiled 26 new products developed and manufactured in China that are destined for global markets.

For foreign investors, China is like a "fitness club", said Denis Depoux, global managing director at German management consultancy Roland Berger. "Foreign companies have to be competitive, have to move quickly, and have to bring the most cutting-edge innovations to China," he added.

The number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises stood at 8,631 in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 14 percent, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce.

"More than four decades of reform and opening-up have demonstrated that China offers a long-term, stable and secure development environment, making it the most reliable safe haven for international capital," said Han Wenxiu, executive deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, during the forum on Sunday.