Policies give foreign investors more confidence in China

China's unfaltering promise to reform and open up demonstrates its firm stance on promoting economic globalization and foreign investment, and its equal treatment of domestic and foreign investors has boosted foreign investors' confidence in China, according to a top executive from Louis Dreyfus Co.

Also known as LDC, the company is a world-leading agricultural product processing and trade enterprise.

Michael Gelchie, CEO of LDC, made the remarks as the company inked many new deals with partners in China recently, strengthening efforts to deepen its integration into the agricultural value chain and modernize trade in the sector. The ultimate aim is to further tap the potential of China's market.

In November, the company reached a series of trade agreements on grain, oil seed, cotton, coffee, and packaged oil with a wide range of Chinese partners during the 4th China International Import Expo held in Shanghai.

The Chinese enterprises include COFCO, China Grain Reserves Group Ltd, China SDIC International Trade Co Ltd, and Wumart Group.

Analysts said the company's moves reflect how vastly investors benefit from China's high-level opening-up and improving business environment.

Zhou Xuezhi, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of World Economics and Politics, said China's fast economic expansion in recent years has made great contributions to world economic growth, and through uninterrupted integration into the international economic community, the nation has also created ample business opportunities for multinational companies.

The annual tone-setting Economic Work Conference concluded earlier this month also called for promoting high-level opening-up. It urged better implementing the national treatment of foreign enterprises, attracting more multinational companies to invest, and promoting the early implementation of major foreign investment projects.

According to Gelchie, China's all-around high-level opening-up will continue to shore up its economic growth, and its pursuit of the new dual-circulation development pattern, which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while letting domestic and foreign markets reinforce each other, will bring about unprecedented business opportunities for foreign companies like LDC.

“China has great growth prospects and huge market potential, which will help propel the sustainable and robust growth in both domestic and foreign markets and facilitate global economic recovery,” he said, adding that China's opening-up has led to closer ties between domestic and foreign enterprises to cooperate and innovate.

For instance, domestic and foreign big names, including ADM, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO, Viterra and LDC, have jointly applied blockchain technology to establish Covantis, a platform for post-trade execution processes of agricultural commodities in bulk.

Chen Jiayuan, CEO of North Asia at LDC, said the industry-changing digital platform aims to improve efficiency, transparency, and information exchanges in the agriculture sector, and since its official launch in late February this year, the platform has attracted many active users. 

Gelchie spoke especially highly of China's contributions to international trade in the agriculture and food sector.

As one of the largest agricultural product and food consumers in the world, China plays a critical role in the development of global agriculture, especially during the global economic slowdown under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Gelchie also said LDC will continue to cooperate with Chinese partners, to safeguard food security in a reliable and responsible manner.

The company is considering establishing a mechanism to improve quick responses to emergencies that might compromise the agricultural supply chain.

Related measures include increasing production and storage capabilities, applying technological innovations to promote the automation and modernization of trade and logistics, and strengthening market surveillance and research.

Chen urged forces from all sectors to work together to improve the resilience of global supply chains. Globalization is urgently needed, so that global trade could become more equal, mutually beneficial and sustainable, he said.