Investing in China Still Top Choice for Foreign Firms

tion infrastructure leads the world, with the largest networks of high-speed railways and expressways in terms of mileage.

For decades, foreign firms have established well-functional local supply chains and hired workers, well-experienced engineers and managers in China, making it “easier said than done” to shift their business to alternative countries or regions in the short term, Depoux said.

While acknowledging that trade uncertainties do affect business confidence, he said in the long run, this will only accelerate the need for China to further localize some supplies, which will create opportunities for both domestic and multinational companies across all sectors.

The Chinese economy is presenting new prospects of profit growth for foreign investors as it transforms to high-quality development and experiences consumption upgrade.

“For many companies, China is now their largest market,” Dunnett said. “The new areas of interest and cooperation include China’s increasing innovation prowess, its demand for environmental technologies. European companies are all keen to be part of these developments.”

Accelerated efforts to open up the market and improve the regulatory environment are expected to strengthen foreign firms’ commitment.

Zhang Xinsheng, Executive Chairman of Shell Companies in China, said his company is benefiting from measures to ease foreign investors’ access to the oil and natural gas sector.

“China has made solid and encouraging efforts to improve the business environment, which has created more opportunities for foreign investors and offers more choices to consumers,” Zhang said.

With the foreign investment law going into effect next year and the latest steps in shortening the negative list for foreign investment, setting out clearly which sectors are out of bounds for foreign investors, a significant improvement in the investment environment is foreseeable, according to Zhang Yansheng, a researcher with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

“We expect a possible new wave of foreign investment flowing into China in the future,” he said.