A view of Lujiazui in Shanghai on January 27, 2025 Photo: VCG
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao on Monday met with Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement on Tuesday. The latest move added to the recent frequent meetings between MOFCOM officials and foreign enterprises' representatives.
The world's economic development faces severe challenges, yet China's economy boasts strong resilience, tremendous potential and abundant vitality. Its long-term positive trajectory remains unchanged, and China is confident in continuing to achieve stable growth targets, Wang noted.
Regardless of external environmental fluctuations, China's policies and expectations remain stable, with consistently steady trade policies toward partners including the EU, Wang said.
He expressed hope that European enterprises like Airbus would seize opportunities to increase investment in China, deepen industrial collaboration, and contribute more high-quality products and services to both China and the world.
Confident in the Chinese market, Airbus is actively expanding its presence in China and plans to further increase investments, deepen its roots in the country and achieve better growth for itself, Furry said, noting that the company does not want to see uncertain impacts from any tariff policies, according to MOFCOM statement.
On Monday,
Wang met with Swire Group's CEO Merlin Swire from the UK. In addition to highlighting China's huge consumer market potential, Wang said that "trade-in" and other policies have been introduced to boost consumption.
Swire said that the company attaches great importance to the Chinese market, and has achieved restorative growth in all business segments in China in recent years
As of press time, MOFCOM officials had met with nearly 30 foreign business representatives through various events in March, the Global Times found, based on the ministry's public announcements.
Earlier this month, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister and Deputy China International Trade Representative Ling Ji co-chaired a roundtable meeting with the Beijing municipal government. Representatives from more than 20 foreign-invested enterprises such as Volkswagen, Starbucks, Sony and DBS Bank, along with other firms operating in Beijing, attended the roundtable, according to a MOFCOM statement on March 8.
Representatives who attended the roundtable noted that China's vast market, well-developed supply chains, and rich innovation resources, coupled with Beijing's highly favorable business environment, make the city a top destination for foreign enterprises.
The recent frequent meetings reflected the country's clear stance for welcoming foreign investors, and its willingness to create a favorable business environment for their local operations, Song Guoyou, a deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Song noted that China's steady development, large economic scale and policy support are major advantages in appealing to foreign investment.
This year's Government Work Report said China will vigorously encourage foreign investment. "We will ensure national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises in fields such as access to production factors, license application, standard setting and government procurement. Foreign investors will receive better services and support, and the launch of landmark investment projects will be expedited. These efforts will help make China a favored destination for foreign investment," according to the Government Work Report.
Amid the country's continuous efforts in bolstering high-quality opening-up, foreign enterprises have taken actual action to expand investment and deployment in the Chinese market.
Beto Abreau, CEO of Suzano, the world's largest market pulp producer, said on Tuesday that the company plans to further increase its investment in China, with a focus on the innovative application of bio-based materials, logistics infrastructure development and partnerships with local companies, Jiemian News reported.
China's vast market offers appeal across nearly all sectors for foreign investment, particularly in industries with significant growth potential, Song said.
For instance, services-related fields continue to attract substantial foreign capital, while high-end and advanced manufacturing stands out as a priority sector due to mature industrial chains and promising development prospects, Song said.
In the first two months of 2025, a total of 7,574 new foreign-invested enterprises were set up nationwide, up 5.8 percent year-on-year, according to MOFCOM data released on Friday.
The actual utilization of foreign investment in high-tech industries amounted to 52.49 billion yuan ($7.26 billion). Within the sector, the actual utilization of foreign investment in the e-commerce services industry grew by 33.5 percent year-on-year, while that for smart consumer device manufacturing increased by 40.7 percent, per the official data.
