Foreign companies expand presence, tapping growing demand, innovation

With China offering new opportunities through its vast market and continued opening-up, foreign businesses are expanding their presence, tapping growing demand and innovation while using the country as a base to serve markets across Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies.

Market watchers said China's modernization drive and economic transformation are giving Asia-Pacific firms greater access to its vast and evolving market, advanced manufacturing capabilities and growing innovation ecosystem, helping deepen regional trade, investment and supply chain ties.

Zhang Yuyan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said China's push for high-quality development is giving businesses across the region a greater role in China's transformation.

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Echoing such a sentiment, Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said deeper economic integration across the Asia-Pacific is also raising demand for more efficient and resilient cross-border supply chains, as companies seek faster and more reliable links between producers and consumers.

Against this backdrop, German logistics services provider DHL put its Shenzhen, Guangdong province super gateway into operation at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in late July with an investment exceeding 1.2 billion yuan ($179 million), marking its single largest investment on the Chinese mainland.

John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, said China's role in the global economy has fundamentally changed, evolving from primarily a manufacturing base into an increasingly important hub for innovation and consumer demand.

"For companies across the Asia-Pacific region, China's industrial upgrading, expanding consumer market and advances in areas such as artificial intelligence, new energy and high-end manufacturing are creating new opportunities to invest, innovate and strengthen their global supply chains," said Pearson.

The trend extends to manufacturers. Japanese industrial conglomerate Panasonic Holdings Corp put a new electronic materials plant into operation in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, in late June, following an investment of 600 million yuan.

Haruhiko Kuwata, director of the electronic materials business division at Panasonic Industry Co Ltd, a business unit of Panasonic Holdings, said the new plant will serve as a key production base as the company ramps up capacity to meet growing demand for electronic materials used in advanced applications.

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Honeywell Technology is also strengthening its innovation presence in China. The United States-based industrial group opened a new innovation center in Shanghai on Sept 1. The facility brings together its latest technologies and solutions across 12 immersive industry scenarios covering energy, smart manufacturing and infrastructure.

Foreign direct investment in China's high-tech industries rose 35.1 percent year-on-year to 200.26 billion yuan in the first eight months, accounting for 41.7 percent of the country's total FDI inflows, up 12.4 percentage points from a year earlier, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Sam Fischer, CEO of Australian vintner Treasury Wine Estates, said the company will continue to deepen its focus on the Chinese market, with China playing an increasingly important role in its long-term strategy.

The strategy is backed by strong sales of its core brands, particularly Penfolds, whose sales in the Chinese mainland market rose 34.7 percent year-on-year during TWE's 2026 fiscal year ended June 30.

Contact the writers at zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn