A view of Shanghai, China's major financial hub and destination for foreign investment Photo:VCG

As the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened, a number of overseas companies and institutions delivered congratulations, expressing appreciation to the Chinese government for molding an increasingly positive business environment which has enabled them to share in the country's development dividend over in the past decade.

At a point when China is embarking on a journey of realizing socialist modernization, foreign companies and institutions also said they are determined to further expand investment in the Chinese market and embrace new opportunities. This again proves the appeal of the Chinese market to overseas investors despite certain overseas media's attempts to discredit Chinese economy.

The five-yearly meeting is the first national congress of the CPC after its centenary in 2021, when the Party led the Chinese people to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Tapestry, a US multinational luxury fashion holding company, said in a statement it sent to the Global Times that the 20th CPC National Congress marks an important milestone for China to embark on a new development journey.

"When we look at China, we feel we are only just beginning and want to contribute to the country as it grows. We look forward to writing more wonderful 'China stories' and resonating with the Chinese market for common prosperity," the company said in the statement. 

AI Mamun Mridha, joint secretary general of the Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI), told the Global Times that the BCCCI upholds the congress with "profound respect." 

Juha Tuominen, chairman of the FinnCham Beijing, told the Global Times that continuation of market opening will hopefully mean more opportunities for Finnish companies, while China's strong commitment to sustainability and tackling climate change is perhaps the most important point from Finnish business community's perspective, as those are key aspects of Finnish technologies and knowhow. 

Witnessing economic achievements 

Several companies told the Global Times that they witnessed China's huge economic achievements in the recent years and managed to "ride the wave" of this development.

China's GDP has come to account for 18.5 percent of the global economy, up 7.2 percentage points over the past 10 years. The country has become a major trading partner for over 140 countries and regions, leading the world in total volume of trade in goods, while also joining the ranks of the world's innovators with breakthroughs in some core technologies in key fields, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Such rapid economic development also provided huge business opportunities for foreign companies.

TCP Group, a leading beverage company in Thailand, said in a statement it sent to the Global Times that the company is "lucky" to have become the participant and eyewitness of China's reform and opening up.

China has achieved remarkable results in economic and social development and has realized its first centenary goal, TCP Group said, adding that the company has been "lucky" to have become the participant and eyewitness of China's reform and opening.

The company also said that it particularly appreciates the Chinese government's efforts to deepen reform and opening-up in recent years, with measures like improving the legal system of intellectual property rights and full implementation of the Foreign Investment Law. Such efforts have helped improve China's business environment and make China a preferred destination for foreign investment, it said. 

"China has continued to build a market-oriented, law-based, and international business environment in recent years, creating a level playing field in which all companies at home and abroad can participate, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors and providing broader development opportunities for foreign investors in China," the firm noted. "Many enterprises, including TCP Group, are increasingly confident and determined to invest in China.

US delivery service provider FedEx also said in a statement it sent to the Global Times that the company has seen great resilience and growth in China's economy despite China's complex challenges over recent years.

"Over the past decades, China has made great contributions to the world's economic growth. Today, China is becoming a more prominent player and should be a key contributor of the global economic recovery," it said.

Vowing more investment 

As China unveiled plans for next-stage development, foreign companies and institutions also expressed optimistic views about the prospects of China's economic development, as well as underlining their determination to continue investing in the Chinese market.

European multinational aerospace corporation Airbus said in a statement it sent to the Global Times that they are "optimistic" about the continuous growth of the economy and market of China in the future, as China's market and economy are full of vigor and great potential. 

"Airbus is committed to being a long-term and reliable partner of China. This is our unwavering strategy," the company said. 

TCP Group, which describes China as the company's most important investment market, said that they have more confidence in the Chinese market with successful opening of the 20th National Congress. 

"We will further expand and deepen our business in China and embrace new opportunities in the Chinese market," the company said. 

China's scale of use of foreign capital has been continuously increasing as the country pushed forward efforts to open up its domestic economy. China's actual use of foreign capital reached $138.4 billion from January to August in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 20.2 percent, data released by the Ministry of Commerce showed.

Experts also noted that China's huge and growing market scale, advanced infrastructure and manufacturing basis, and massive consumer market will form precious development opportunities for overseas investors in the next 10 years.

"Overseas investment in China will continue to maintain a rising trend in the next 10 years. In particular, financial investment will speed up growing as China's securities and capital markets expand opening-up," Bai Wenxi, chief economist of IPG China, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Besides, mergers and acquisitions will also become one of the important channels through which overseas capital enters the Chinese market, he said. 

Chen Jia, an independent research fellow on international strategy, said that by pursuing high-standard opening-up, China would more actively participate in the reforms and construction of global governance system, insist on multilateralism, as well as push international relations to develop in a more fair and reasonable way.

He also noted that foreign investment should grasp the core of China's economic development, which is real economy, and participate in China's construction of new industrialization and a modern industrial system, such as industries like new urbanization, digitalization, manufacturing and transportation.