The container terminal of Rizhao Port in Shandong Province is bustling with automated bridge cranes for precise operations. Photo by Song Niansheng

In 2025, the stable pattern of the Chinese economy will continue to consolidate, the momentum of progress will continue to strengthen, and the characteristics of resilience will become increasingly prominent, adding valuable confidence to the world economy. Many foreign-funded enterprises continue to increase their investment in the Chinese market, and "optimistic about China" has become a consensus. The person in charge of a foreign-funded enterprise in China who was interviewed by reporters stated that the 2025 Central Economic Work Conference and the "15th Five Year Plan" proposals have released positive signals for China to further expand opening up and attract foreign investment. Foreign enterprises firmly maintain their confidence in continuing to invest in China and look forward to more opportunities for win-win cooperation, injecting more momentum into the development of the world economy.

The Chinese economy has shown significant resilience and become a stable anchor for the global economy

In the first 11 months of 2025, there were 61207 newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China, a year-on-year increase of 16.9%; In November, 7425 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established, a year-on-year increase of 35.3%.

According to the "2025 China Outlook for Multinational Enterprises" recently released by KPMG, most multinational enterprises in various industries hold a more optimistic attitude towards their revenue growth prospects in China in the next 3 to 5 years, with 94% of surveyed companies stating that they will continue to invest in the Chinese market. Despite facing various challenges, the Chinese economy has shown significant resilience and become a stable anchor for the global economy, "said Jiang Liqin, Managing Partner for Client and Business Development at KPMG China." According to surveys, multinational companies are more optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese economy compared to the global economy

Bosch Group from Germany has signed a contract with Suzhou Industrial Park to invest 10 billion yuan to build innovative projects in the intelligent driving control industry and export technological achievements to the global market; Danish industrial giant Danfoss has invested an additional 2.7 billion yuan in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, to build a future factory and zero carbon industrial park that integrates research and development, testing, production, and display; Wanyite, a global benchmark enterprise in peritoneal dialysis therapy, has signed contracts with Guangzhou Development Zone and Huangpu District in Guangdong Province to establish an automated peritoneal dialysis equipment production base project and lay out the biopharmaceutical industry in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area

The increase in foreign investment is closely related to China's advantage in having a complete industrial system. The Financial Times recently published a report stating that China has a complete industrial system, continuously improving manufacturing capabilities, and strong market potential, which are attracting more and more European manufacturing companies to increase their investment in China.

In 2025, the world economy is struggling to move forward against the wind, and the fluctuating and tortuous process fully demonstrates that only open cooperation can create greater incremental space and promote win-win outcomes for all parties. China has steadily expanded its institutional opening-up, improved its level of opening-up to the outside world, and opened up a broad stage for foreign investment to share the dividends of the Chinese market.

On December 18, 2025, Hainan Free Trade Port officially launched the island wide customs operation. As the first foreign-funded enterprise to invest in Hainan after the reform and opening up, Zhengda Group now has a total investment of 2 billion yuan in the local area. Xue Zengyi, Senior Vice Chairman of the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Food Enterprise of Zhengda Group in China, said, "The island wide closure operation of Hainan Free Trade Port brings a more open trade environment and more efficient factor allocation, which is a major development opportunity for us

The source of global innovation and the core engine driving growth

In the first 11 months of 2025, the actual use of foreign investment in the e-commerce service industry, medical equipment and device manufacturing industry, and aerospace and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 127%, 46.5%, and 41.9% year-on-year, respectively. The accelerated flow of foreign investment towards high-tech industries demonstrates the surging momentum of China's new quality productivity and technological innovation ecosystem.

At Schneider Electric's Shanghai Putuo factory, machine learning supported digital rapid prototyping, intelligent planning and scheduling, and generative artificial intelligence operation and maintenance have reduced order production delivery time by 67% and increased per capita production efficiency by 82%. Yin Zheng, Executive Vice President and President of Schneider Electric in China and East Asia, said, "In China, the 'Artificial Intelligence+' policy, combined with a strong industrial foundation, diverse application scenarios, and abundant innovation resources, has given birth to a rapidly rising artificial intelligence industry cluster, making China a highland for the development of the global artificial intelligence industry and a key part of Schneider Electric's global artificial intelligence innovation strategy layout

At present, China is the only country in the world where Schneider Electric has full business line research and development capabilities. It is reported that the expansion project of Schneider Electric Beijing Yizhuang Industrial Park and the construction of Wuxi New Industrial Park are about to be completed, and the Xiamen New Industrial Park will also be completed in 2026, further strengthening Schneider's overall layout in China.

In September 2025, Qualcomm's annual technology summit - Snapdragon Summit - will set up a sub venue in Beijing, marking the first time the summit has landed in China. Meng Pu, Chairman of Qualcomm China, introduced that artificial intelligence and connectivity are becoming the core driving force of the new generation of technological transformation. Qualcomm is continuously deepening technological innovation and industrial cooperation with Chinese partners to promote the integrated development of the real economy and digital economy.

Entering the factory of Philips Medical (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., rows of large CT assembly production lines are busy running, and new products are constantly being assembled and produced. This company is the only manufacturing base of Philips worldwide that covers a full range of imaging products such as CT, MRI, vascular machines, and ultrasound, with products shipped to over 150 countries and regions worldwide.

Liu Ling, member of the Philips Global Executive Committee and President of Greater China, said, "China is not only a crucial market, but also the source of global innovation and the core engine driving growth

Create a more transparent, stable, and predictable business environment

In recent years, new consumer formats, models, and scenarios have emerged continuously in China, promoting sustained innovation and expansion of foreign-funded enterprises in the country.

In November 2025, L'Oreal Group announced an investment in a local skincare brand in China. We firmly believe that investing in China is investing in the future, and this investment further highlights the core position of the Chinese market in L'Oreal's global strategy, "said Bo Wanshang, President of L'Oreal North Asia and CEO of L'Oreal China." China's measures to boost consumption have brought us great confidence. We will uphold a long-term approach, continue to deeply cultivate the Chinese market, and work with more Chinese brands to meet the expectations of Chinese consumers

China has a population of over 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million, firmly ranking as the world's second largest consumer market, first largest online retail market, and second largest import market. By 2025, the Chinese consumer market will demonstrate strong resilience and potential, with the total retail sales of consumer goods expected to exceed 50 trillion yuan.

Reuters reported that China will formulate and implement plans to increase the income of urban and rural residents, and deepen the implementation of special actions to boost consumption. The report states that service consumption has enormous development potential in China, and relevant measures will effectively activate this potential.

Tetsuhiro Honma, Global Vice President of Panasonic Corporation, stated that China's steady expansion of institutional opening-up, reduction of the negative list for foreign investment access, and expansion of domestic demand policies and measures will create a more transparent, stable, and predictable business environment for foreign-funded enterprises. An open China will continue to provide important opportunities for the world. We have a long-term outlook on the trend of the Chinese economy and are willing to work together with Chinese partners to contribute to high-quality development. "(Reporter Li Xinyi)

(Original title: "An Open China Will Continue to Provide Important Opportunities for the World" - Foreign funded Enterprises Firmly Confident in Long term Development in China)

Editor: Wang Siyang

Related articles