Setting a new course for the economy
should adjust their strategies, as the environment both at home and abroad has undergone profound changes, said Sang Baichuan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
“China has shifted from high-speed growth to highquality development. So foreign businesses should also change their expansion plan that focuses only on ‘quantity’ to emphasize both ‘quantity and quality’,” Sang said.
He said that foreign investment must avoid creating excess capacity in China, as the country’s economic structure has been changing and competition intensifying.
Official data showed foreign direct investment into China continued a strong run in 2018, despite the downturn in global cross-border direct investment and increasingly intense global competition.
Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland rose 0.9 percent year-on-year to 885.61 billion yuan in 2018, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
A total of 60,533 new foreign-funded companies were established last year in China, up 69.8 percent year-onyear, data showed. During the period, FDI flowing into the traditional manufacturing sector increased 20.1 percent from a year earlier.
Inspired by the government’s efforts, foreign companies in various sectors have expressed optimism about the Chinese market. Foreign enterprises are not only participants and drivers of China’s reform and openingup, but also beneficiaries of the undertakings, said She Duanzhi, vice-president of Nike China.
Tao Lin, vice-president of Tesla Asia-Pacific, said the automaker has achieved accomplishments in China in a short period of time, and the company’s factory construction in China is faster than in other markets, thanks to the improved business environment in China and the overall industrial climate.
US-based Tesla Inc broke ground on its Shanghai plant on Jan 7, becoming the first company to benefit from a new policy allowing foreign carmakers to set up whollyowned subsidiaries in China.
James Zhan, president of Tata Group China, said: “I am very pleased that the Chinese government has repeatedly stressed that foreign companies are welcome to participate in the market.”
“An economic environment with involvement of various foreign companies is important for China’s healthier development,” Zhan said, stressing that his company remained confident on the Chinese market.
In the financial sector, China’s securities regulator approved UBS AG’s plan to gain a majority stake in its mainland securities joint venture.
This made the Swiss bank the first global financial institution to take advantage of the new rules China put in place to further open up its financial market.
According to an announcement released by UBS on Dec 24, the company raised its stake in its joint venture UBS Securities Co from 24.99 percent to 51 percent.
Sergio P Ermotti, UBS Group CEO, said this step underlines the firm’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market. “The further opening-up of China’s financial sector represents great opportunities for our wealth management, investment bank, and asset management businesses,” he said.
Eugene Qian, president of UBS Securities, said with majority control, UBS can better realize its opportunities in China’s capital markets and make a greater contribution to the UBS Group.