Against the backdrop of global economic uncertainties and rising protectionism, the China market has become a strategic focus for multinational corporations with its sustained openness, innovative vitality, and massive consumption potential. Recently, entrepreneurs from 17 countries gathered in Shanghai to participate in the 37th Shanghai Mayors ‘International Entrepreneurs Consultation Conference, engaging in in-depth discussions on “Openness, Innovation, and Inclusiveness: Shanghai’s Development Strategy Toward 2030.” These enterprises span multiple sectors including manufacturing, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, energy, and finance. Their collective choice not only reflects confidence in China’s development prospects but also demonstrates high recognition of the global value of the China market. Behind this trend lies the high-level open system constructed by the Chinese government through systematic policy support, as well as the comprehensive advantages centered on innovation-driven and institutional openness.
Global innovation source: policy guidance and technology ecology drive
China has transformed from the former “world factory” into a vibrant “global innovation hub”. Professor Mark Greiven of the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, remarked during his visit to Shanghai Fourier Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.: “The speed at which Chinese enterprises move from generating ideas to implementing solutions and then scaling them up is astonishing.” This innovative efficiency is attributed to a series of supportive policies launched by the Chinese government to promote technological self-reliance and strength. For instance, the 14th Five-Year Plan explicitly proposes to strengthen the nation’s strategic scientific and technological capabilities, stimulating corporate innovation through measures such as tax incentives, R&D subsidies, and intellectual property protection. Additionally, China has introduced specialized industrial policies in fields like artificial intelligence, new energy, and biomedicine, providing multinational corporations with clear strategic guidance and resource support.
Many multinational corporations have chosen China as their preferred destination for launching new products, conducting technology trials, and innovating business models. Choi Tae-won, chairman of South Korea’s SK Group, stated that the group’s investments in China span high-value-added sectors such as energy, chemicals, semiconductors, and biopharmaceuticals, while also increasing its focus on artificial intelligence data centers and green solutions. Schwann, chairman of the board of Switzerland’s Roche Group, pointed out that the company has invested 2.04 billion yuan to build a new biopharmaceutical production base in Shanghai, actively participating in the construction of China’s innovation ecosystem. Ji Jie, global chairman of U.S.-based Warburg Pincus, further emphasized that “innovation in China and deployment worldwide” has become a significant trend, with China accelerating its transformation into the “world’s artificial intelligence factory.”
Institutional opening: policy dividends build a new highland for foreign investment
China has provided global investors with a stable, transparent, and predictable policy environment by continuously optimizing the business environment and deepening institutional openness. From 2021 to 2024, China has twice reduced the negative list for foreign investment access, achieving “zero” restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, and piloted opening in service sectors such as healthcare and value-added telecommunications. In addition, the multiple revisions of the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment and the introduction of the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment have further clarified China’s policy orientation of welcoming foreign investment and protecting foreign investors’ rights and interests.
These policy dividends have attracted numerous multinational corporations to expand their presence in China. Masashi Imai, Chairman of Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group, stated that the approval for Mizuho Securities (China) Co., Ltd. is a “historic move,” with the scale and growth potential of China’s bond market being a key reason for the group’s entry. Intuitive Surgical, the global leader in surgical robots, has established Shanghai as the largest integrated R&D, production, and training center in the Asia-Pacific region. Its da Vinci surgical robot has already been produced in China, and the operating system for early lung cancer diagnosis has been first launched in China. Koichi Nagai, President of Nomura Holdings, commented: “Amid rising global protectionism, China continues to open its doors to foreign companies and investors.”
New consumption landscape: policy empowerment and market upgrading jointly shape the growth engine
China’s consumer market is undergoing an upgrade from “quantity” to “quality”, with new business forms such as health consumption, silver economy, beauty economy, and the integration of culture, tourism, commerce, sports, and exhibitions continuously emerging. This transformation is closely linked to the Chinese government’s policies promoting high-quality development and expanding and improving consumption. For example, the “Healthy China 2030” outline aims to enhance the health level of the entire population, bringing broad opportunities for enterprises in the fields of medicine, sports, and wellness; the “Outline of the Strategy for Expanding Domestic Demand” further unleashes market potential by optimizing supply structures and improving the consumption environment.
Multinational enterprises, as participants and beneficiaries of China’s consumption upgrade, have felt this particularly deeply. L’ Oréal Group Chairman An Gong stated that despite short-term fluctuations in the consumer market, the company’s sales in China are expected to grow by about 3% in the second quarter of 2025, emphasizing that “this growth curve has just begun.” Jon Rie, Chairman of the Board of Novartis AG, pointed out that the company is leveraging artificial intelligence technology to promote cardiovascular disease prevention and control programs, contributing to the realization of the “Healthy Shanghai 2030 Action Plan.” Adidas Global CEO Bjorn Gulden, on the other hand, observed the growing enthusiasm of Chinese consumers for sports and hopes to deeply integrate sports with a better life.
Global Value: China’s Opportunities and the World’s Confidence in Two Directions
The unique advantages of the China market lie not only in its scale and growth rate, but also in the systematic competitiveness formed by the government through policy guidance. From building an innovation ecosystem to deepening institutional openness, from driving consumption upgrades to leading green transformation, China is proving to the world through concrete actions that openness and cooperation are the fundamental path to addressing global challenges. Shi Dinghua, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Brazil’s Vale, arrived in Shanghai a week in advance before the conference to personally experience the “strong pulse of China’s development.” As Zhao Guohua, Chairman of France’s Schneider Electric Group, noted, the “lighthouse factory” established by the group in China has shortened the R&D cycle by 63% and increased per capita efficiency by 82% through artificial intelligence technology, demonstrating the global value of the China market in technological innovation and sustainable development.