China's commitment to reform and opening up boosts investor confidence

From the latest government work report to a series of policy measures introduced by top government bodies, China's unwavering commitment to reform and opening up has created development opportunities and strengthened the confidence of foreign investors.

China's policy directions and support measures are both "clear" and "practical," with a strong signal of promoting opening up and optimizing the business environment for foreign companies, Zhang Daopeng, public affairs general manager at Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co., Ltd., told Xinhua.

Zhang's remarks followed a special meeting where government officials from the country's top economic planner and the commerce ministry engaged in discussions with business delegates, briefing them on the key takeaways from China's "two sessions" and providing them with a deeper understanding of China's policy directions and economic priorities.

Organized by the China Public Relations Association on Sunday, the meeting gathered representatives from international companies including Tesla, AstraZeneca and SoftBank, along with a diverse array of industries such as finance and investment, biopharmaceuticals, automotive manufacturing and tourism.

China's development journey was "extraordinary" in the past year, showing strong resilience and vitality in the economic sector, Jiang Yi, director of the policy research office of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said.

"China's clear attitude toward deepening reform and expanding high-standard opening up remains unchanged and will not change," Jiang noted. He added that the commission's top-level policy design this year will prioritize enhancing the business environment and fostering the growth of international enterprises through law-based and market-driven approaches.

Amid a range of tailored support measures aimed at various sectors, boosting consumption is a key priority, a sentiment strongly echoed by business representatives. Jiang highlighted that China will focus on increasing household incomes and further expanding the consumer product trade-in program to address challenges such as insufficient consumer purchasing power.

In Zhang's view, having attended the meeting for the second time, the consumption-boosting program that China has vowed to expand to broader sectors in 2025 serves as a catalyst for driving his company's investment in the Chinese market. The company is also exploring investment opportunities that are arising from the big health and elderly care industries in China.

China vowed to implement solid support measures to connect consumer spending to people's well-being in the latest consumption-promotion plan released on Sunday. The plan outlines the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds totaling 300 billion yuan (41.67 billion U.S. dollars) to bolster consumer goods trade-in programs in 2025, doubling the figure from 2024.

In a clear indication of China's advancement in opening up and attracting foreign investment, the 2025 version of the catalog of industries that encourage foreign investment will be published promptly, Jiang said during the meeting. The new catalog will include new sectors such as advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech industries and environmental protection.

In the meantime, the commission has already begun formulating policies to encourage reinvestment by foreign enterprises in China, vowing to streamline administrative procedures, improve financial services and launch a special working team to support major foreign investment projects, according to NDRC official Hua Zhong.

This was mentioned in a new action plan to stabilize foreign investment unveiled last month, which outlines 20 specific measures in four aspects, including further expanding market access in various sectors and increasing efforts to promote investment.

Wang Ya, deputy head of the foreign investment department of the Ministry of Commerce, emphasized that the plan can be interpreted through key themes such as expanding opening up, promoting investment, strengthening platforms and optimizing services during the meeting.

Foreign companies' confidence in investing in the world's second-largest economy has strengthened further. A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China revealed that nearly 70 percent of consumer industry respondents plan to increase investments in China in 2025.

An overwhelming 92 percent of member companies of the German Chamber of Commerce in China plan to continue their operations in the country, underscoring the enduring importance of the market to German businesses, the chamber said in a report.

A series of proactive opening-up signals released by the Chinese government since "two sessions" have further "strengthened our determination to pursue long-term and high-quality development in the Chinese market," said Fang Juntao, senior vice president of Nestle Greater China.

"The fair, transparent and predictable investment environment fostered by the Chinese government has facilitated foreign enterprises to better tap into the vast potential of the Chinese market," he added.