General

At the beginning of the new year, according to the observation of Huacheng's import and export data, many foreign-funded projects have pressed the "fast forward" button of construction, including some headquarters projects, manufacturing bases, research and development centers, etc. The interviewed foreign enterprises expressed that they are optimistic about China's big market potential, economic prospects and opening policies, and will continue to cultivate the Chinese market in 2023 to seek long-term development.

During the New Year's Day, the site of the Sino Dutch (Suzhou) Science and Technology Innovation Port project located in the Suzhou High Speed Rail New City was busy, and the installation of office towers, basements and floor equipment was carried out vigorously. Not long ago, the Suzhou Economic and Trade Cooperation Phase City Team went to Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to pay a special visit to the "old friend" Sukos Group, the Netherlands, who introduced the project, and communicated the latest progress of the project.

According to the Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report, the Sino Dutch (Suzhou) Science and Technology Innovation Port project covers an area of about 77 mu, with a total building area of more than 180000 square meters. It aims to build a platform for exchanges and cooperation between China and the Netherlands in various fields such as optoelectronic technology, biomedicine, and high-end auto parts. It is expected to be officially put into operation in 2023.

Such scenes are not uncommon. The erection of the steel structure of the new plant has taken shape, and the construction site is in full swing... In the new year, the new plant of AGC, a Japanese enterprise, is under hot construction in Huizhou. According to the project leader, this is AGC's Phase IV plant built locally. "Due to the increased demand for LCD panels from TCL Huaxing, AGC has made additional investment in this project in Huizhou. As planned, the new plant will be put into production in the fourth quarter of 2023."

More than 100 kilometers away in Guangzhou, ZF Group, a leading global auto parts company, is preparing to start its new factory in Huadu District. Just years ago, ZF Group signed an investment cooperation agreement with the local government to build a new auto electronics factory, continuously improve the production capacity of products in the fields of automatic driving, cameras, sensors, brake electronics, etc., focus on the field of new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles, and strive to build a highly automated and intelligent global benchmark factory. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

There are also more foreign-funded enterprises in China to arrange headquarters projects, manufacturing bases, R&D centers, etc. For example, in Wuxi, the Vanderville Savio China headquarters and textile machinery R&D and manufacturing base project with a total investment of 160 million US dollars has officially started construction recently; Kevo, one of the leading enterprises of American clothing suppliers, is building a R&D and sales headquarters project in Jiangyin High tech Zone, Jiangsu Province, with a total investment of 159 million dollars; Estee Lauder China Innovation R&D Center, covering an area of 12,000 square meters, has just been opened in Shanghai

According to the observation report of Huacheng import and export data, these foreign-funded enterprises chose to stay behind China's investment layout because of their tangible gains in China's long-term development and their optimism about China's big market prospects.

Fukuda Lizhi, Chairman of AGC Display Glass (China), introduced that from Kunshan to Shenzhen and then to Huizhou, the company continued to increase the factory building and investment of display glass in China. "This series of investments has met the demand for large growth of glass for LCD display and made great contributions to the performance growth of AGC Group."

Fukuda said that China is the most important strategic market for AGC, and about 70% of the global demand for display glass is concentrated in China. In addition, TCL Huaxing, the largest Chinese partner of AGC, continues to expand its LCD panel business, so AGC will also expand its LCD glass business with customers.

Fan Jiayu, president and CEO of Estee Lauder Group in China, recalled that since 1993, Estee Lauder Group has continued to invest in China and expand its local business. Today, China has become the "second home" of Estee Lauder Group, and its net sales in China have almost doubled in the past three financial years. "After the establishment of the new R&D center, the enterprise's increasing innovation and R&D capabilities will bring more new products that meet the needs, expectations and aesthetics of Chinese consumers."

Asia Pacific Senbo (Guangdong) Paper Co., Ltd., affiliated to Singapore Golden Eagle Group, has also achieved rapid business development in China. "From 2020 to now, we have been very busy, and at most five projects have been launched at the same time. The company's base in Jiangmen has not shrunk, but has developed at a high speed." Yang Huan, general manager of Asia Pacific Senbo Public Affairs, said, which makes the company more aware of the resilience of China's economic development.

Zhang Fei, deputy director of the Foreign Investment Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the continuous inflow of high-quality foreign investment projects is a choice made by transnational corporations after comprehensive comparative consideration, which conforms to the interests and development aspirations of transnational corporations. At the same time, these foreign investment projects settled in China and continued to deepen their cultivation, which also met the requirements of high-quality economic development in China and was the result of various measures taken by China to improve the quality and efficiency of foreign investment utilization.

More favorable policies continue to be introduced. The Central Economic Work Conference held a few days ago proposed to make greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital, and made a series of arrangements for attracting and utilizing foreign capital in 2023 from the aspects of expanding market access, implementing national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises, and promoting the implementation of landmark foreign investment projects.

At the recent regular press conference, the spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, Shu Jueting, said that the Ministry of Commerce would take multiple measures to constantly improve the quality and level of foreign capital utilization, focusing on stabilizing the stock, expanding the quantity and improving the quality.

To be specific, Shu Jueting said that she would continue to open up to the outside world, further relax the access threshold, and increase the openness of the modern service industry; We will continue to optimize the structure of capital attraction, implement the new version of the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment and special policies on manufacturing and research and development centers, and guide foreign investment in key areas such as advanced manufacturing, modern services, energy conservation and environmental protection, and scientific and technological innovation; We will continue to strengthen investment promotion and service guarantee, and accelerate the implementation and construction of foreign capital landmark projects; Continuously optimize the business environment, implement the national treatment of foreign-funded enterprises with high standards, etc., Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

Looking forward to the future, Nie Pingxiang, a researcher from the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that China's super large market, continued to improve the economic fundamentals, especially the continuous release and upgrading of the national consumption potential, will provide a solid foundation for foreign enterprises to invest in China. At the same time, the continuous improvement of China's investment environment will enhance the confidence of foreign-funded enterprises to invest in China. "In 2023, it is believed that as China continues to deepen its high-level opening-up, foreign-funded enterprises will welcome more development opportunities, and more high-quality foreign capital will continue to plough into the Chinese market."