Foreign investors continue expansion in western China

CHONGQING, April 4 -- A China International Import Expo (CIIE) serial event was held in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from Monday to Wednesday, highlighting foreign investors' confidence in the Chinese market.

The event, with the theme of "To Boost Dual Circulation by Introducing More Foreign Investment," attracted over 100 exhibitors from the CIIE's previous and coming editions, including renowned companies such as Metro, Samsung Electronics, and Medtronic, along with representatives from multinationals and investment promotion agencies.

Embracing the immense opportunities brought by 5G and terminal-side artificial intelligence, Qualcomm aims to further strengthen its collaboration with Chongqing in the domains of intelligent terminals and networked vehicles, Qian Kun, senior vice president of Qualcomm, said during the event.

Qualcomm's optimism serves as a microcosm of foreign companies' unrelenting exploration of western China's market in recent years. Since the onset of 2024, the Chinese government has encouraged collaboration between the central and local governments to stabilize foreign investment and enhance the business environment.

According to statistics, Chongqing witnessed a surge of 30.49 percent in the establishment of new foreign-invested enterprises in 2023. Similarly, Shaanxi Province in northwest China experienced a year-on-year increase of about 30 percent in the number of new foreign-invested enterprises.

"China's vast market scale provides a distinct advantage and serves as a critical market for Sumitomo's electrical industry," affirmed Takeo Keizo, managing director of Sumitomo Electric Trading (Shenzhen). Having already made strategic investments in the automobile industry in Chongqing and other regions, Sumitomo Electric eagerly anticipates exploring collaboration opportunities in fields such as sewage treatment.

Tino Zeiske, president of Metro China, stressed that the substantial population of the western region translates into immense consumption potential, enabling Metro supermarkets in this area to consistently thrive.

The continuous pursuit of developing new quality productive forces in the western region has given birth to more new investment opportunities for foreign enterprises.

As a prominent manufacturing hub, Chongqing is actively promoting the sophisticated and intelligent upgrading of traditional industries. Neighboring Sichuan Province is witnessing robust developments in industries such as new displays, power batteries, and new energy vehicles.

"Chongqing, as a new economic engine in the inland region, has a strong industrial base. In recent years, Chongqing and other places have reshaped the industrial landscape with intelligence and expanded emerging industries with 'clusters and innovation,'" said Qian Kun.

To continue attracting foreign investment, provinces and municipalities in the western region are striving to optimize the business environment for foreign companies looking to establish a presence.

Chongqing alone has implemented a roundtable system for foreign enterprises and introduced a series of policies to encourage foreign investment.

It has also established an online platform for accepting and addressing complaints from foreign-funded enterprises. Since its launch, the platform has facilitated the updating of over 1,700 pieces of relevant information including new policies, effectively helping foreign investors gain a foothold in the Chinese market.