A growing China benefits the world, and an open China brings more potential. (PHOTO: VCG)

Edited by QI Liming

China will further expand its high-level opening up, offering more opportunities for foreign investors to engage in deeper operations in the country. In early March, to better meet the diverse payment needs of foreigners, the People's Bank of China released a guideline to optimize the payment services of bank cards, promoting cash use and facilitating mobile payment.

This endeavor shows the country's determination to further open up, deepen multilateral and bilateral cooperation, and work for more practical outcomes, providing more convenience for foreigners to work and live in China. These efforts were welcomed broadly.

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said during the China Development Forum (CDF) 2024 that the IMF is willing to deepen cooperation with China for the country's economic transformation and upgrading, reform and opening up. "We are seeing China embarking on necessary reforms, so China’s strong performance from the past can continue," she said.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said the company will continue to ramp up R&D investment in China. "I think China is really opening up," Cook said. He mentioned that Apple's China-based suppliers had helped deliver gains in more sustainable manufacturing, including lowering water use and recycling metals like aluminum and cobalt.

Stephen von Schuckmann, a board member and executive at the ZF Group who oversees the auto supplier's batterydrive operations, said the company was committed to China, which leads the world in electric car sales and production. "Any wording and hype about an exodus in the supply chain is not what we follow," he said. "We're invested. We're here to stay."

Amin H. Nasser, Aramco president & CEO, said, "China has a vitally important place in our global investment strategy. We are not mere investors, and China is not just a market to us. We want to be a partner of first resort in China's economic development journey, as new opportunities clearly come into focus." "It is equally clear to us that with China's emphasis on high quality development, even greater investment and cooperation opportunities are emerging," he added.

"L'Oreal will continue to invest in China as we believe that investing in China is investing in the future," said Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of the France-based cosmetic giant, adding that the CDF reflects China's determination to embrace a new era of high-quality development.

Kim Fausing, president and CEO of Danfoss, a leading Danish energy efficiency solution company, said China's reaffirmed pledge to further opening-up and improvements to the business environment, especially the protection of intellectual property rights, gives them strong confidence to continue investing in the country.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of British biopharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, said, "We are here because China is at the forefront of using artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and renewable energy to shape the future of healthcare, and we believe that Chinese-born innovation can help millions of patients worldwide."

In addition to the feedback from entrepreneurs from various industries, China's authorities have adopted a multi-channel survey to fully release the potential of opening up.

Minister of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)  met with leaders of foreign businesses in Beijing in February to learn the needs of foreign entrepreneurs. Attendees were encouraged to share specific challenges about doing business in China. "The impression that most of us were left with was there's a genuine desire by MOFCOM to deliver on these concrete examples," Jens Eskelund, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, said.