US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (center) and other members of the bipartisan delegation arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport to kick off their China visit on Saturday, October 7, 2023. Photo: VCG

Shanghai Party chief Chen Jining met with a US congressional delegation and encouraged US companies to seize the opportunities created by China's modernization. Chen made the remark in a meeting with a bipartisan congressional delegation led by US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who arrived in Shanghai on Saturday. 

As the economic and trade hub and the frontier of China’s opening-up, Shanghai is willing to play an active role in promoting its role in maintaining stable China-US relations and expanding trade ties, Chen said.

Schumer said that the US attached importance to US-China relations and does not seek to decouple from China. He said that the purpose of the trip is to enhance mutual understanding, promote the resolution of differences, and facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation through candid, in-depth, constructive, and productive dialogues.

According to a list of top 255 overseas companies in Shanghai, the number of companies from the US ranks first, with a total of 79, maintaining the top position for three consecutive years. 

More US companies plan to ramp up investment in China this year, increasing their bets on China's market potential. 

According to a poll by American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai) released last month, 31 percent of the respondents are increasing investment in China this year, which is 6 percentage points higher than 2022. The primary reason cited for the increase is China's market growth potential, according to the website of the AmCham Shanghai.

Eric Zheng, President of AmCham Shanghai said that “despite the challenges, our member companies remain convinced that China is an important market and that they should pursue mutually beneficial commercial opportunities in this country.”

The chamber has also voiced appreciation for recent “encouraging” developments of the bilateral relations led by several high-level visits by US government officials and China’s continued efforts to improve its investment climate.

In August, China’s State Council issued a statement outlining guidelines regarding further optimizing foreign investment environment and strengthening efforts to attract foreign investment. The guidelines are aimed at improving the overall balance between domestic and international situations and foster a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized.

Chen emphasized that Shanghai will continue to build a market-oriented, law-based international business environment to facilitate foreign investment.

From January to August, Shanghai received 3,877 newly established foreign-invested enterprises, a growth of 44.2 percent compared with the same period last year.