CIIE Photo:VCG

As Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech on Friday at the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) that emphasized China's unswerving commitment to further opening up its market and to creating new opportunities for the world with its own development, a number of foreign enterprises that participated in the fair said they were encouraged and have increased their determination to invest and develop in China.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 5th CIIE via video on Friday, Xi pledged that China will firmly safeguard true multilateralism, share market opportunities with the rest of the world, promote high-standard opening-up and uphold the common interests of the world.

The remarks by President Xi have received a warm response from multinational companies across the world.

President Xi said China is ready to make sure that the country's commitment to openness will bring about broad prospects for global development, and that Tesla is a participant and beneficiary of this pattern of openness, Tao Lin, vice president of Tesla, told the Global Times.

"While Tesla's gigafactory in Shanghai is driving the upgrading of the domestic new-energy industry, its models are also exported to many countries and regions in Europe and Asia Pacific, becoming a beautiful business card of 'Made in China' going global," Tao noted.

President Xi said that the CIIE has become a showcase of China's new development paradigm, a platform for high-standard opening-up, and a public good for the whole world.

A total of 284 Fortune Global 500 firms and major industry players joined the business exhibition at the 5th CIIE, up from last year's 281.

Yin Zheng, president of Schneider Electric China, said that China is not just a huge market but also a driving force for development and innovation. "We have participated in the CIIE for five consecutive years with growing confidence in our long-term development in China," Yin added.

Dr. Chunyuan Gu, Chairman of ABB China, said that President Xi's remarks on Friday were very encouraging. "ABB benefits from the substantial influence of the CIIE and the growth opportunities of the Chinese market, supporting our ongoing commitment to invest and develop in China as the partner of choice for sustainable and high-quality development," Gu noted.

"The keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the CIIE was very inspiring and has instilled great confidence in us to continuously seize the 'China opportunities' and embark on a new journey in China," Irene Hsu, vice president and general manager, Amgen China, a US biotechnology company, told the Global Times.

Paul Huang, Senior Vice President of the LEGO Group and General Manager of LEGO China, said that the company was very encouraged by President Xi 's speech. The key words "openness", "sharing" and "opportunities" mentioned in his speech further strengthened its confidence and determination to continue to cultivate the large Chinese market, Huang added.

"We have witnessed the important role that the expo plays in bringing market opportunities for foreign companies to develop in China. Thanks to the high level of opening-up to and a more friendly business environment, our business in China has grown rapidly and we are confident about the opportunities ahead," Huang noted.

At a media event hosted by German optics giant Zeiss, in which the company elaborated on its localization strategy to "keep up with China speed" on Saturday, Liu Fuxue, deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau, said that the fact that the 5th CIIE was able to be held offline and on time amid a round of epidemic flare-ups had sent a message of certainty as the world faces growing volatility.

EY China attended the fair for the fifth year, The group said the fair provides the company the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to exploring emerging opportunities in the metaverse, creating sustainable development through collaboration. 

The holding of the Fifth CIIE on schedule not only reflects the effort of China in intensifying high-level opening-up, but it also shows China's determination to keep encouraging opening-up for shared growth, said Michael Bi, EY China Markets Managing Partner, adding that given the business achievements of past CIIEs and a series of spillover effect afterwards, China's role in world trade keeps increasing and a larger number of Chinese and overseas enterprises will benefit from the event.

As the 5th CIIE was kicked off on Friday, a number of deals were announced by foreign companies.

German specialty chemicals producer Evonik told the Global Times that its first global lithium-ion battery center was put into operation in Shanghai on Friday to bank on the fast growth of China's electric vehicle industry and China is home to the vast majority of top-notch battery producers and Asia accounts for more than 90 percent of global lithium-ion battery production.

On Saturday, global biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced a package of cooperation deals with the city of Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province. Areas of cooperation include building of an inhalation aerosol plant in the city's high-tech zone and jointly establishing an innovation center in partnership with the local government.