Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Giancarlo Elia Valori
At the end of last March, Xi Jinping warmly welcomed the arrival of representatives from the international business community and expressed appreciation for their long-term commitment to cooperation with China. Xi Jinping emphasized that in the 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China—and particularly over the past 40 years of reform and opening up—China has achieved the “two miracles” of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. These achievements were made possible thanks to the strong leadership of the Communist Party and the joint efforts of the Chinese people. They were also inseparable from the support and assistance of the international community, including the contributions of foreign-funded enterprises in China.
Thanks to reforms and opening up, China has been able to swiftly enter the global market and keep pace with the times. A key way of achieving this has been the active use of foreign capital. Foreign investment in China has driven the country’s economic growth and job creation, promoted technological and managerial advancement, and pushed forward reforms and openness. Practice has proven that foreign-invested enterprises play an important role in China’s modernization, reform, innovation, and development, as well as in connecting China with the world and integrating it into the global economy. Throughout this process, foreign-invested companies have generally received generous returns, continued to grow and develop, achieved mutual benefits and win-win outcomes, and forged deep friendships with the Chinese people.
On the morning of March 28, President Xi Jinping met with representatives of the international business community at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Xi Jinping stressed that for many years, China has made a significant contribution to the stability of global economic growth and is now comprehensively advancing Chinese-style modernization. Opening up to the outside world is a fundamental national policy of China. Beijing is promoting high-level opening-up and constantly expanding institutional openness in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards. The door to opening up will only open wider, and China’s policy of utilizing foreign investment has not changed—and will not change.
China is the world’s second-largest consumer market, with the largest middle-income population and enormous potential for investment and consumption. China is committed to high-quality development, accelerating green, digital, and smart transformations, and strengthening its industrial support capacity. It represents the best application scenario for a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. China has established a relatively sound system of laws, policies, and initiatives to attract foreign investment, promoted the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and actively created a world-class business environment—market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized. China has long maintained political and social stability and is recognized as one of the safest countries in the world.
These facts show that China offers a vast entrepreneurial stage, broad market prospects, stable policy expectations, and a sound security environment—making it fertile ground for foreign-funded enterprises seeking to invest and do business. China has been, is, and will continue to be an ideal, safe, and promising destination for foreign investment. Standing with China means seizing the best opportunities. Believing in China means believing in the future. Investing in China means investing in tomorrow.
Xi Jinping also noted that the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (held July 15–18, 2024) laid out a roadmap and timeline for deepening the reform of the foreign investment and outbound investment management system. China will further expand its opening-up, focusing on lowering market access thresholds; it will ensure that foreign-invested enterprises in China enjoy equal treatment with domestic firms and maintain fair competition in the market. The country will enhance communication and exchanges with foreign entrepreneurs, provide maximum convenience for trade and investment, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises in accordance with the law. At the same time, China will firmly follow the path of peaceful development and strive to create a favorable external environment for the development of foreign-invested enterprises.
Xi Jinping emphasized that multilateralism is the inevitable choice to tackle the difficult challenges facing the world, and that economic globalization is an unstoppable historical trend. China adheres to true multilateralism, promotes inclusive and mutually beneficial economic globalization, actively participates in global economic governance, and is committed to building an open world economy. Foreign-invested enterprises, especially multinational corporations, play an important role in maintaining the global economic order and also bear significant responsibilities. It is essential to jointly uphold the multilateral trading system, the stability of global industrial and supply chains, an open and cooperative international environment, and to promote economic globalization in the right direction.
More than 40 presidents, CEOs, and representatives of business associations from foreign-invested enterprises participated in this meeting. Among those who spoke were FedEx Group Chairman Martin Räsberg, Mercedes-Benz Group Chairman Ola Källenius, Sanofi Group CEO Paul Hudson, HSBC Holdings Group CEO Tom Aiden, Hitachi Ltd. Chairman Higashihara Toshiaki, SK Hynix Chairman Kuo Luzheng, Saudi Aramco Chairman Amin H. Nasser, and others.
These entrepreneurs and business leaders stated that, under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, China has achieved stable economic growth, deepened comprehensive reforms, and expanded high-level opening-up, which is commendable. From “Made in China” to a new quality productive force, China is advancing industrial transformation and upgrading through scientific and technological innovation, enabling higher quality and more sustainable development. China’s economic outlook is optimistic. In the context of rising protectionism and tariffs, China has continued to open up, injecting stability into the global economy and becoming an oasis of certainty and a hotspot for investment and business. China’s development is a key driving force for the global economy, and the country’s vast opportunities and growth potential are inspiring.
The guests deeply appreciated the Chinese government’s efforts to create a fair and favorable business environment for foreign-invested enterprises. Foreign businesses continue to expand their investments and cooperation, deepen their presence in the Chinese market, actively participate in the country’s modernization process, build bridges for exchange and cooperation between China and foreign countries, support the opening of global markets, safeguard international free trade, and contribute to global economic development.
It is believed that the meeting between Xi Jinping and business leaders from third countries will stabilize foreign investment, inject vitality into the Chinese market, boost the effectiveness of government measures to stimulate consumption, and ensure that foreign companies face no geopolitical risks when investing in the People’s Republic of China.
Xi Jinping’s various speeches during subsequent meetings with international business community representatives demonstrate that the Chinese government continues to enhance the importance and attractiveness of the Chinese market for foreign investment.
Since China lifted its anti-COVID policy in 2023, allowing free entry into the country and refocusing on the economy, authorities have realized that revitalizing the Chinese market and economy is inseparable from private enterprises and foreign capital. As a result, economic work has been redirected towards promoting private sector development and attracting foreign investment to China.
It must be said that progress has been made on the first front, with private sector confidence gradually recovering. Meanwhile, the second front is still developing, partly driven by recent U.S. trade restrictions. The reopening of China has occurred in a profoundly changed context. The U.S.-China confrontation continues, with Washington’s restrictions on Beijing—especially in technology and investment—continuing to pile up. The withdrawal of U.S. companies (and some Western companies following the White House’s lead) from the Chinese market is ongoing, but many companies—Western and otherwise—looking to enter China are also evaluating the favorable conditions left behind in the wake of these exits.
On March 28, as mentioned above, Xi Jinping met with dozens of senior executives from major global companies attending the China Development High-Level Forum in Beijing.
Xi Jinping assured representatives of the international business community that investing in China is an investment in the future. Data released by China’s Ministry of Commerce showed that in 2024, 59,080 new foreign-invested enterprises were established—an increase of 9.9% from the previous year. This indicates that China’s policies and efforts to attract investment in recent years have made progress and indirectly confirms that the current international and geopolitical context significantly affects China’s ability to attract foreign investment.
For China, foreign investment not only plays a key role in improving technological and managerial capabilities of Chinese enterprises but also serves as a vote of confidence in the country. In this regard, stabilizing foreign investment means stabilizing confidence in the Chinese economy. Two figures shared by former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan illustrate this: last year, foreign enterprises accounted for 30% of China’s manufacturing exports and 50% of exports of high-tech, equipment-intensive, knowledge- and technology-intensive products.
Based on this perspective, Chinese authorities issued a 20-point action plan at the start of the year to stabilize foreign investment. The plan proposes expanding pilot openings in sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, and education; accelerating and enhancing efforts to fully open the domestic service sector; further reducing items on the negative list for market access; continuing to expand institutional openness in areas like rules, regulations, management, and standards in pilot free trade zones; and improving the outward-oriented economic development level in national economic and technological development zones.
The return of Donald Trump to power has brought both challenges and opportunities due to his tariff war and has put pressure on Chinese authorities to further expand opening-up, while also presenting some new opportunities. Beijing expects a renewed Trump administration to increase pressure on China. Although Chinese authorities now appear more experienced and cautious after more than six years of trade war, Trump’s return will intensify economic pressure. However, Trump has also brought China an “unexpected surprise.” His domestic and foreign policies—especially on tariffs, his territorial greed towards allies, and particularly his stance on Ukraine—have exceeded the world’s expectations and caused great dissatisfaction among U.S. allies. For example, Italy, home to numerous U.S. military bases, is treated like all other countries: as colonies or various “commonwealths” (such as Puerto Rico).
As a result, China’s diplomatic, economic, and trade initiatives in support of globalization and multilateralism may find greater resonance among more countries, including Western ones. To hedge against risks, in the fourth quarter of 2024, Western capital, including from the U.S., began pulling out of Wall Street and investing in the financial markets of China and Hong Kong.
Who will make the first concessions in the U.S.-China tariff war? It is also in this context that the number of foreign companies participating in the Boao Forum for Asia (Hainan Island, March 25–28, 2025) increased compared to last year. Meanwhile, the China Development High-Level Forum (Beijing, March 23–24, 2025) attracted more than 100 foreign officials. In total, 86 official representatives of multinational companies from 21 countries participated in this year’s forum. The China Development High-Level Forum is sponsored by the Development Research Center of the State Council and hosted by the China Development Research Foundation. Since its founding in 2000, it has become an important platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation between China and the world.
American companies were the most numerous, accounting for about a third, while it was previously wrongly predicted that their number would decrease and that they would keep a low profile.
Xi Jinping also met with representatives of the international business community present at the aforementioned summit, which followed his meeting with representatives from the academic, industrial, and commercial sectors of the United States who attended the China Development High-Level Forum 2024. The 2025 meeting involved not only American entrepreneurs but also those from other Western and non-Western countries. Among them were 14 U.S. companies, 10 German companies, 6 British, 3 French, as well as companies from Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and other nations.
The sectors involved included healthcare, manufacturing, finance, energy, retail, technology, automobiles, and consumer goods. Naturally, the participating companies and their industries were carefully selected by Chinese authorities, with the aim of showcasing the attractiveness and importance of the Chinese market for foreign capital and foreign businesses, as well as the confidence foreign capital and companies have in China.
Xi’s speech was structured around three main points: first, repositioning foreign companies and enhancing their status in China. In his view, foreign companies play an important role in China’s modernization, reform, opening-up, innovation, and continued development, as well as in connecting China with the world and integrating it into global economic globalization. Although the positioning of the three main points is a description of the facts, this had never been expressed in this way before. Now that the emphasis has been elevated to such a level, the importance of foreign investment is clearly highlighted. Second, to boost the confidence of foreign companies, Xi stated that China has been, is, and will certainly remain an ideal, secure, and promising destination for foreign entrepreneurs’ investments. The goal is to dispel doubts and third-party threats regarding foreign companies’ investments in China, strengthen their confidence, and enable them to go to China to develop with confidence and share the development opportunities that China offers. Third, regarding the measures to be taken for foreign companies in the next phase, Xi said that China will further expand its opening-up and focus on resolving specific issues related to market access; ensuring that foreign-invested enterprises obtain production factors fairly and in accordance with the law; ensuring that products made by foreign-invested enterprises in China can fairly participate in public procurement in accordance with the law; strengthening service guarantees; listening to the needs of businesses; and helping solve practical problems.
The number of foreign companies, including U.S. companies, that participated in the two aforementioned forums has increased compared to last year, indicating that international capital’s confidence in China is gradually recovering. It is easy to see that these actions, particularly Xi’s meeting with representatives from the international business community, will significantly improve and enhance foreign companies’ confidence in China.
It is expected that Trump will continue to be tough on China, and the economies and technologies of the United States and China will continue to diverge. This trend is difficult to reverse in the short term unless Washington and Beijing reach a major agreement.
Ultimately, we must recall Xi Jinping’s reflections regarding history not as a chronology but as a synthesis of the present: thanks to reforms and opening-up, China has managed to quickly enter the global market and keep up with the times. An important way to achieve this goal has been to actively utilize foreign capital.
In 1979, China enacted the law on Sino-foreign joint ventures, gradually opening the doors to investments from other countries. In 1992, China decided to establish a socialist market economic system, and foreign investment in China underwent a general acceleration. In 2001, China officially joined the World Trade Organization, and more foreign investors began arriving in China. After the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (November 8-15, 2012), China entered a new phase of high-level opening-up and made new progress in utilizing foreign capital. Currently, foreign investments in China cover 20 sectors and 115 large industries, with a total of 1.24 million established enterprises and nearly three trillion dollars in investments.
In conclusion, foreign investments in China have played an important role in the country’s development. Foreign-funded companies contribute to a third of China’s imports and exports, a quarter of industrial value-added, and a seventh of taxes, while also creating over 30 million jobs. The advanced technology and management experience brought by foreign-funded enterprises have had a positive impact on the development of Chinese companies and talent cultivation. In the past decade, foreign industrial enterprises’ investments in R&D in China have increased by 86.4%, and the number of valid invention patents has increased by 336%. Investments have promoted China’s reforms and opening-up, fostered China’s deep participation in the global division of labor, actively connected China with international high-level economic and trade norms, and promoted institutional and mechanism reforms in many areas, including the economy, science, technology, and ecology. Foreign-funded enterprises have also actively participated in China’s poverty reduction campaign and other social welfare initiatives.
Xi Jinping emphasizes that unlocking internal circulation is the foundation, but this does not mean building walls. It means providing strong support for a higher level of opening-up to the outside world, stimulating demand potential, and building a strong internal market.
In the context of the crisis of globalization and the rise of protectionism, China’s role and position as a major economic and commercial power in the world are crucial. Xi Jinping has undoubtedly conveyed the positive will of the People’s Republic of China to maintain the stability of the global trading system and promote the building of an open world economy.
China reaffirms its firm support for the multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization, opposes unilateralism and trade barriers, and demonstrates the attitude of a responsible great power.
At the same time, China is committed to maintaining the resilience and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, not only as a necessity for its own development but also as a contribution to the world. This demonstrates to the international community that China is a promoter of global openness and cooperation, not a risk-taker, and is willing to collaborate with other countries to jointly respond to challenges and share development opportunities.
The national and international business communities will certainly pay close attention to how these commitments translate into concrete actions and tangible results. But in any case, Xi Jinping’s speech has set the tone for China’s economic policies and social expectations in the coming period, and its deep implications deserve continuous attention and interpretation by all parties. It concerns not only China’s development but also has a profound impact on the direction and model of the global economy.
