The Shanghai government will hold 20 roundtable discussions with overseas enterprises in June on key sectors, such as integrated circuits, trade, and car manufacturing among other fields, in a bid to further accelerate the resumption of production of foreign-funded enterprises in the city, local news outlet Xinmin Evening News reported on Sunday.

The municipal government has held two roundtables with foreign enterprises in Shanghai recently to assist them in tackling obstacles during the process of returning to work. The move was part of the implementation of the 50 measures recently released aimed at promoting the return to normality of the city.

Senior executives from foreign enterprises expressed during the meetings their unchanged determination to continue developing their businesses and expand investment in Shanghai.

The first conference was dedicated to US enterprises such as FedEx, Procter ＆ Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, among others, as well as the US-China Business Council.

Zhu Ji, Senior Vice President of Cabot Corporation, said that the company will never leave the Chinese market, adding that the company has an investment plan in Shanghai, from 2022 to 2023, worth nearly $80 million which will not be halted despite the impact from COVID-19 outbreaks.

Data showed that the US is the fourth largest source of foreign investment in Shanghai, with the actual investment from US-funded enterprises exceeding $16.5 billion. A total of 521 new enterprises were funded by US companies in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 21 percent.

The second conference targeted automakers with representatives from Tesla, Ford and other four companies attending the event, which addressed some concerns from the sector about the stability and reliability of the industrial supply chain.

Shanghai released 50 measures on May 29 in a bid to accelerate the economic recovery. Among them, the city has outlined a variety of measures to stabilize foreign investment and improve business environment, which include coordinating conferences between executives of foreign enterprises and government officials to help companies resolve practical problems, along with other supporting measures.

Meanwhile, Shanghai will advance on the application of special aid funds to encourage multinationals to develop regional headquarters in Shanghai, which will be allocated by end of September.