Workers manufacture display panels on an assembly line in Huainan High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in East China's Anhui Province, on April 24, 2022. Photo: VCG

Overseas tech giants continue to explore the Chinese market despite the turbulence caused by the epidemic, with some companies viewing China as one of most important markets for them.

The Asia-Pacific region has maintained double-digit growth over the past two years despite the epidemic, and the biggest contribution is from China market, Samson Khaou, Executive Vice President of Asia-Pacific with Dassault Systemes said in a recent interview with Global Times.

"China is our future development key area, and it will be the most important market for our group," he added. 

French-based Dassault Systemes is a company providing software applications services , with its business scope covering provision of 3D design software, 3D digital mock up and product lifecycle management.

The company has developed very fast in China in the past few years, engaged in several projects such as the Wuhan Next Generation Meteorological Radar Project, the Bird's Nest, and the Beijing-Xiong'an Railway, said Zhang Ying, Managing Director of China with Dassault Systemes.

The major industries the compay cover include automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace and life sciences in China. "The epidemic has not stopped our practice but instead witnessed the landing of major projects", Zhang said, adding that their digital solutions have been adopted by many customers in the Chinese manufacturing industry in the past two years.

The remarks came as China's manufacturing sector has demonstrated strong resilience and growth potential, with the government rolling out a number of policies to stabilize industrial chains, ease the burden on enterprises, and promote industrial transformation.

In the first half of the year, the value-added output of China's manufacturing sector accounted for 28.8 percent of the country's GDP, up 1.4 percentage points from 2021, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said..

High-tech manufacturing, which saw value-added output increase 9.6 percent year on year in the January-June period, was a major force in pushing forward the manufacturing sector's high-quality development, according to the MIIT data.

China's manufacturing is unique in that it is supported by such a vast domestic market, and it can both diversify and balance development between its export market and China's own domestic consumers, Zhang said, adding that the local supply chains also support further development of the market. 

Dassault is not alone. BASF's Digital Hub in China celebrated its two-year anniversary on Wednesday, and announced plans to accelerate the incubation of digital talent in the country. On the back of the announcement, BASF is enhancing capabilities across a wide spectrum of digital areas such as SAP & planning solutions, cyber security, artificial intelligence and data science, IoT in addition to cloud and commerce solutions, all within China's unique digital ecosystem.

Located in the center of Nanjing, the hub has about eighty digital specialists supporting BASF's local customers and businesses. To meet the growing demand for tailored digital solutions, BASF is aiming for triple-digit growth of its team in the next two years.

Global Times