ThisphototakenonApril14,2023showstheinaugurationceremonyofanAirbusresearchcenterinSuzhou,eastChina'sJiangsuProvince.(Xinhua)
ManyinternationalCEOsrecentvisitstoChinahaveprovedhowU.Smediaoutletswerewronginclaiminginternationalbusinessesseekwaysto"decouple"fromChina.Instead,theyhatetheideaofdecoupling.
TherehasrecentlybeenagrowingtrendforinternationalCEOstovisitChina.Manyentrepreneurs'tripstoChinatoexploreopportunitiesprovehowU.SmediaoutletslikeTheNewYorkTimes(NYT)werewronginclaiminginternationalbusinessesseekwaysto"decouple"fromChina.Instead,theyhatetheideaofdecoupling.
It'salsoeasytonailanotherliemadebyNYTthat"Chinahasgrownlessbusiness-friendly."AppleCEOTimCook'srecentChinatourcanserveasacounterargument.
Duringhisone-weekvisittoChinainMarch,theApplechiefsharedmultiplepostsonChina'ssocialmediaplatformWeibo,showcasingpicturesandvideosofhimselfsmilingamongalargegroupofChinesecustomersandstaffatthefirstApplestoreinChina.
CookwasinChinafortheChinaDevelopmentForum2023,aconferencefeaturingtheattendanceofinternationalexecutivesofgiantslikeAramco,Mercedes-Benz,Samsung,ShellandJohnson&Johnson.Attheforum,Cooksaidthat"AppleandChinagrewtogether."
Thelonglistoftheforum'sdelegatesindicatesthatChinaremainsamagnetforforeignbusinesses.
It'sdifficultnottonoticetheactionsofforeigncompaniesinChina,suchastheirgrowinginvestments,projectlaunchesandstoreopenings.Forinstance,automakerTeslaannouncedinAprilitwouldopenafactoryinShanghaitomakeMegapackbatteries,andEuropeanaircraftmanufacturerAirbusisalsoplanningtobuildasecondFinalAssemblyLineinChinatoexpandtheproductioncapacityoftheA320familyofpassengeraircraft.
Meanwhile,foreigndirectinvestmentintheChinesemainland,inactualuse,expanded2.2percentyearonyearto499.46billionyuan(70billionU.S.dollars)inthefirstfourmonthsoftheyear,accordingtoChina'sMinistryofCommerce.
TherearemanyreasonsforinternationalCEOsandinvestorstocasttheirvotesofconfidenceintheChinesemarket.
First,theirhistoryof"growingtogether"withChinagivesthemmoreexpectationsforthefuture.Fordecades,manymultinationalenterpriseshavesharedthedividendsofChina'srapidprogresswhilemakingcontributionstoChina'seconomy.
TwentyyearsafterBMWfirstsetfootinChina,theGermanautogianthasnowbuiltitslargestglobalproductionbaseinChina.
TheChinesemarketis"dynamicandresilient,"saidMilanNedeljkovic,memberoftheboardofmanagementofBMWAG,addingthat"thereisasignificantopportunityforinvestmentsofforeigncompanies,whichgivesthewin-winsituationforbothChinaandtheinvestors."
Second,formanyforeigncompanies,Chinatodayisnotmerelyaproductionbaseandavastmarketbutalsoasourceofinnovation.BMWestablisheditslargestR&DandinnovationnetworkoutsideGermanyinChina.
China'smanufacturingsectorboastsenormousdevelopmentpotential,andrelativelycompleteecosystems,whichgivestheAsiancountrycomparativeadvantagesinadvancinghigh-techindustries.That'swhyarecentreportreleasedbytheEuropeanUnionChamberofCommerceinChinashowsroughly60percentofthecompaniessurveyedwillincrease"greatly"or"somehow"theirR&DspendinginChinainthenextfiveyears.
Third,atatimewhenaglobaleconomicslowdowncoupledwithplentyofuncertaintieshasbuffetedinternationalbusinesses,theChinesegovernmenthascontinuouslyintroducedfavorablepoliciestofosterasoundbusinessenvironmentforforeignbusinessesandbolsteritsinvestmentliberalizationandfacilitation.
Chinahasexpandeditsfreetradepilotzonesfromoneto21.TheentireislandofHainanhasbeenturnedintoafreetradeport.In2022,Chinafullyimplementedtheshortenednegativelistforforeigninvestment,expandedtheencouragedinvestmentcatalogandaddedmorecitiestoapilotprogramtoopenuptheservicesector.
ThisphototakenonAug.21,2020showsalogoofTikTok'sLosAngelesOfficeinCulverCity,LosAngelesCounty,theUnitedStates.(Xinhua)
AroundthesametimeCookwasembracedinChina,TikTokCEOShouZiChewendurednearlysixhoursofintensegrillingbyU.S.lawmakers,whoenactedablatantpoliticalploytoportraythevideo-sharingsocialnetworkingcompanyasanationalsecuritythreat.Lackingevidence,theonlyexcusebywhichthelawmakerssingledoutTikTokasthemust-be-bannedappisthatitsparentcompany,ByteDance,operatesinChina.
TikTokisnottheonlyvictimofWashington'ssuppression.TheUnitedStateshasputmorethan1,000Chinesecompanies,includingZTE,HuaweiandDJI,onvarioussanctionslists,usingnationalsecurityasanexcusetoclampdownonChinesesocialmediaappssuchasTikTokandWeChat.
Also,inrecentyears,Washingtonhasfrequentlyrestrictedinvestmentintelecommunications,semiconductor,artificialintelligenceandotheremergingtechnologiessectorsfor"endangeringnationalsecurity"andincludedforeignentitiesorindividualsontheentitylistofexportcontrols.
Chinawelcomesforeigncompaniestoinvest,ortoexpandtheirpresence.Invividcontrast,theUnitedStates"hasgrownlessbusiness-friendly."TryingtopintheblameonChinawillonlymakeAmericalessdesirableforglobalbusinesses.