World brands upbeat about Chinese market

"All over the world, we see at the present a trend for global protectionism. China's message for keeping open economies should be much appreciated," said Bernard Dewit, chairman of the China-Belgium Chamber of Commerce.

World major brands have expressed optimism about the potential of the Chinese market, as China's economy continues to grow, beating expectations, and their sales in China significantly increase.

Germany's direct investment in China achieved a record high last year, according to a study by the German Economic Institute (IW) based on data from the German Federal Bank. In 2023, Germany's direct investment in China reached 11.9 billion euros (12.7 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 4 percent rise compared to the previous year, said the study.

Since 2021, German direct investment in China has consistently reached new highs, with the data for 2023 once again breaking historical records, said Juergen Matthes, a foreign trade expert at the IW, noting that multinational corporations, in particular, are increasingly focused on expanding their investments and maintaining growth in China.

The study also indicates that in 2023, German companies' direct investment in China accounted for 10 percent of Germany's total foreign investment, marking a significant increase. The cumulative investment in China over the past three years has matched the total investment in the six years from 2015 to 2020.

In 2023, Bosch Group's sales in China reached 139.1 billion yuan (about 19.5 billion U.S. dollars), a 5.2 percent year-on-year growth, with nearly 58,000 employees in the country.

Despite various challenges and uncertainties in 2023, Bosch China achieved sustained and robust growth in 2023 while the intelligent mobility business was the primary engine of its development in China, said Xu Daquan, president of Bosch China.

China continues to be a key innovation and research hub for Bosch Group in addition to being a significant market. Bosch intends to maintain its stronghold in the Chinese market, make ongoing investments improve local manufacturing and research and development skills, grow local alliances, and provide more effective customer and market services while fostering company expansion, said Xu.

John Pearson, the global chief executive officer of DHL Express, said in an interview with Xinhua that DHL is actively involved in and benefits from the economic development and industrial transformation in China.

DHL's business in China grows together with the local market and partners, achieving mutual success through collaboration, he noted.

DHL will keep pace with the rapid development of e-commerce in China by investing more in sustainability towards a greener future, said Pearson.

A recent article released by DHL highlighted that the sheer size of China's economy and its role in global trade make it too important to ignore for any international business.

A flurry of new policies aimed at boosting economic recovery should support manufacturing and supply chain resilience. As the country steps up its international competitiveness, suggesting expanded opportunities for businesses, both export and import businesses continue to find compelling opportunities in China, said the article.

"All over the world, we see at the present a trend for global protectionism. China's message for keeping open economies should be much appreciated. Protectionism has never brought additional value in the long term. These last 40 years the progressive openness of China has benefited itself as well as the rest of the world," said Bernard Dewit, chairman of the China-Belgium Chamber of Commerce.

"The challenge is now, on the one hand, to keep our economies open while becoming greener and, on the other hand, to avoid increased social gaps as well as internally and internationally with a certain number of countries left behind," said Dewit.

China's advocacy for "equal and orderly world multipolarity" is in line with the United Nation's philosophy, and shows that China wants to play a positive and active role in a peaceful and orderly development in the world at a time when tensions are present in many parts of our planet, he added.