Global executives ‘heartened’ by vision
Global business executives have hailed China’s new moves and vision outlined by President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Nov 5.
Mr Xi underscored the role of economic globalisation in his speech, saying the expo is a major policy for China to push for a new round of highlevel opening-up and a major measure allowing the country to take the initiative in opening its market to the world.
“I was heartened to hear President Xi’s speech. His messages on the deepening of China’s reform and opening-up, promoting trade liberalisation and optimising the business environment certainly give us great confidence in continuing to grow our business in China,” said Vladimir Makatsaria, chairman of Johnson & Johnson China.
Mr Makatsaria said the first expo is a high-level event that highlights these opportunities and a forum for the Chinese government to demonstrate its commitment to trade liberalisation.
Lothar Herrmann, CEO of Siemens China and a member of the Advisory Council of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said: “The expo is a great platform that marks 40 years of reform and openingup. I echo President Xi who pointed out that countries should focus on innovation to drive economic growth by grasping opportunities generated from new technological revolutions such as digitalisation and artificial intelligence.”
Eager to enhance its sales revenue, Mr Herrmann said Siemens will continue to contribute to a complete portfolio of electrification, automation and digitalisation to create value for its customers and partners.
Denis Depoux, China CEO of global consultancy Roland Berger, said the president’s speech was much awaited by the international community, especially coming at a time when protectionism is on the rise.
“In that respect, we are reassured by President Xi’s strong voice that the opening-up policy will be reinforced and strengthened. After Davos and Boao, this is another pledge to international trade, and the associated multilateral rules,” he said.
Christian Hartel, a member of the executive board of Germany’s Wacker Chemie AG, said: “We will surely benefit from the increasing consumption power in China. And we will continue our investment in expanding production capacity in China, especially in areas such as electronics, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and household and personal-care products.”