MNCs swear by Chinese market

Visitors gather at the booth of Canon during an expo in Shanghai. CHINA DAILY

Executives of multinational corporations have said a review of the latest Government Work Report has given them immense confidence in China's economic prospects, given the new focus on technological innovation and industrial upgrade, and the 2024 GDP growth target of around 5 percent.

They pledged efforts to seize new business opportunities arising in the world's second-largest economy, saying that their long-term commitment to the Chinese market remains unchanged.

The long-term fundamentals of China's economy remain intact despite pressures and challenges, and Canon is confident that China can achieve its 2024 GDP growth target, said Howard Ozawa, executive vice-president of Japanese tech conglomerate Canon Inc, and president and CEO of Canon China.

"Canon is confident in the continuous improvement of China's business environment and the vast potential of the Chinese market," he said, adding given China's significant position and the promising growth trends, the company has set the goal of making Canon China No 1 in terms of sales within the whole group by 2035.

This year's Government Work Report underlined that China will strive to modernize its industrial system and develop new quality productive forces at a faster pace. Ozawa said the new quality productive forces are mainly led by scientific and technological innovation, while Canon aims to bolster innovation to further offer products and services tailored for the Chinese market, and seek diverse collaborative methods with China's leading companies.

"We remain optimistic about the long-term potential of the Chinese economy. China's economic landscape is dynamic and resilient, characterized by ongoing reforms, technological advancements and a strong commitment to sustainable development," said Cui Jingyi, vice-president and general manager of industrial software developer Aveva China.

Cui said the United Kingdom-headquartered company anticipates a growing demand for digital transformation across a wide range of industries, and this evolving landscape presents exciting opportunities for Aveva to collaborate with businesses of all sizes, helping them optimize their operations, reduce carbon emissions and enhance efficiency.

She highlighted that the new quality productive forces are essentially about promoting high-quality development through sci-tech innovation and industrial upgrade, saying Aveva focuses on cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing to provide industrial intelligence that energy business leaders need to build safe, efficient and agile operations that are also more sustainable.

"China is one of the most dynamic and resilient markets in the world and remains one of Sony's most crucial overseas markets. It is also home to many talented (content) creators and industry innovators," said Takehito Soeda, vice-president of Sony China, adding he pays great attention to China's emphasis on driving the upgrade of industries and consumption with technological innovation.

The Japanese consumer electronics company, he said, values personalized and diverse demands of the Chinese market.

Zhang Ying, managing director of industrial software company Dassault Systemes Greater China, said: "Looking back at 2023, China's economy rebounded with a 5.2 percent year-on-year GDP growth, showcasing China's strong intrinsic dynamism, resilience and great potential.

"With an unwavering commitment to further advance opening-up, China's influence in global industrial, supply and innovation chains has notably increased, providing new opportunities for multinational corporations like Dassault Systemes to tap into its market potential."

Wang Qian, country manager of LinkedIn China, said the new quality productive forces proposed at this year's two sessions have become key buzzwords, attracting widespread attention. "The proposal of new quality productive forces not only marks China's higher pursuit of quality and efficiency in economic growth, but also reflects forward-looking thinking about the future transformation of the labor market."