U.S. firms continue to seek investment opportunities in Chinese market

CHONGQING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Many U.S. companies are seeking investment opportunities in the Chinese market amid China's introduction of a host of incremental policies to support economic growth.

On Monday and Tuesday, a roundtable meeting between the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and U.S. multinationals was held in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Representatives from about 60 U.S. companies and chambers of commerce participated in the meeting.

Several U.S. companies have recently announced increases in their investments in China, viewing it as a long-term, high-growth market, said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, while adding that he hopes China's opening-up policies rolled out this year will inject vitality into the Chinese economy.

China's recent incremental policies have reinforced enterprises' confidence in the Chinese market, encouraging them to expand research and development, production and recruitment, said Tao Lin, vice president of Tesla.

A number of foreign enterprises have participated in China's national program of large-scale equipment renewals and trade-in of durable consumer goods, according to NDRC official Wen Hua. The program, which targets green and digital transformation, is open to foreign companies, including American firms, that can leverage their own strengths and offer competitive products and technologies, Wen said.

The NDRC is revising the Catalog of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment, and efforts will be made to enhance the transparency of policy formulation and improve services for foreign-funded enterprises, said Hua Zhong, an official of the NDRC.

The NDRC established the roundtable meeting mechanism in 2021 and nine related activities have taken place thus far. The aim of this mechanism is to encourage U.S. enterprises to participate deeply in building a higher-level open economy, while also sharing in the dividends resulting from the high-quality development of China's economy.