In the past two weeks, Beijing has come under the spotlight of global business communities. International exchange events, such as the Beijing Night, Reception of China Development Forum 2024, and the 16th Meeting of International Business Leaders Advisory Council for the Mayor of Beijing (IBLAC), have attracted numerous multinational company leaders to gather in the city to discuss new opportunities and future development.
Over the past few days, key leaders of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality have held meetings with heads of multinational corporations that have strong cooperative ties with Beijing, including Mercedes-Benz, Apple, Novartis, Pfizer, Corning, and Swiss Re. They have also engaged in extensive discussions at various events, promoted development opportunities and expressed readiness for cooperation. These business moguls highly appreciated Beijing's rich history and culture, modernized infrastructure, and booming economy, and placed high hopes on this open, innovative, and promising city. They have reaffirmed their unwavering confidence and commitment to the Chinese market, specifically to Beijing's market.
A Promising City
Poised to redouble investment in Beijing
Last year, Beijing achieved solid progress in high-quality development, with its GDP reaching 4.4 trillion yuan, up 5.2 percent. Securing a good start in the first quarter, the city has solidified the foundation for vigorous and sustained industrial operations for the year.
Today, Beijing is home to a total of 244 regional headquarters of multinationals. Optimistic about Beijing's prospects, these multinationals believe that the city's development will bring more opportunities to enterprises from all over the world. This is evidenced by their increasing investment in Beijing.
In early March, the vehicle production of Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBAC) surpassed the five-million mark, matching that of the engine production for the first time. Confident about the future, Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said, "The incredibly fast growth exemplifies the speed of China's development. Seeing Beijing as the ‘second home’, Mercedes-Benz will forge stronger ties with BBAC in developing intelligent connected vehicles to facilitate the transition of the auto industry towards electrification, intelligence, green and low-carbon development. We will scale up investment and introduce models that are more competitive."
Novartis' sole operating plant in China is located in Changping District. Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan highlighted the immense significance of the Chinese market. Novartis pledges to introduce a new production line at the Changping plant to ramp up its drug production and supply capacity. It will also strengthen R&D cooperation with relevant institutions in Beijing to upgrade digital healthcare.
Also bullish on Beijing is Medtronic. "Today, 21 percent of Beijing's population are aged 60 or above, with the prevalence of chronic diseases among the elderly on the rise. As a medical technology company, we will continue to expand our investment and presence in Beijing, and hasten the localization process, to deliver a wider range of high-quality medical and health products and services to Chinese patients," said Geoff Martha, Chairman & CEO of Medtronic.
Despite the changes in the international landscape, the business community remains highly confident in China's growth prospects, as evidenced by their concrete actions. Corning, BOE's largest glass substrate provider, has witnessed the emergence of this global leading panel manufacturer. Its Chairman and CEO Wendell P. Weeks remarked with conviction, "Refusing to follow others blindly is the key to Corning's relentless innovation. We remain invincibly hopeful about China's development, and will hence increase investment and bring more new products to China."
An Innovative City
A world-class innovation ecosystem with abundant opportunities
Beijing's world-class innovation ecosystem has become a magnet for high-end international resources. As Apple's CEO Tim Cook said, "Beijing is one of the most innovative and dynamic cities in China, particularly excelling in fields like artificial intelligence. This is precisely why we're intensifying our R&D and investment efforts in the city."
What impressed the executives was the considerable strength of this innovative city. Beijing boasts nearly 100 universities and over 1,000 research institutes. Last year, with 411 individuals recognized as the world's "Highly Cited Researchers", Beijing topped the list among global cities. Its R&D intensity remains stable at above six percent of the city's GDP. It leads the country in terms of the number of invention patents per 10,000 people, and embraces the highest count of unicorns and state-level "little giants" - top performers among specialized, high-end, and innovation-driven SMEs. Notably, an average of more than 330 technology companies were founded in the city every day last year.
Sci-tech innovation is at the core of developing new quality productive forces, and therein lie enormous opportunities for explosive industrial growth. Daniel O'Day, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Gilead Sciences, shared three key factors that multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare companies prioritize when exploring global markets: a science-based, predictable regulatory pathway, a sound ecosystem that favors innovation, and a robust intellectual property protection system. "Beijing's endeavors to foster a world-class innovation ecosystem are highly commendable, as it lavishly supports new technology R&D and innovation with a focus on niche markets, providing a conducive environment and ample room for multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to flourish," he added.
"China is making strides towards becoming a technology powerhouse, and Beijing, as one of the innovation hubs, is committed to creating a more dynamic environment to further propel scientific and technological innovation." According to Pfizer's Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla, "A significant advantage of Beijing lies in the dynamic energy exhibited by the proliferating startups. We hope to deepen our R&D cooperation with Beijing so that more biopharmaceutical startups can achieve faster growth with the help of Pfizer's platform."
An Open City
Continual Efforts to Optimize "Beijing Services"
China is opening its door even wider. In March, a series of favorable policies such as the Action Plan for Steadily Promoting High-level Opening up and Making Greater Efforts to Attract and Utilize Foreign Investment and the Opinions on Further Optimizing Payment Services to Facilitate Payments were issued, signaling the city’s commitment to expand high-level opening-up.
At the IBLAC meeting, Anna Marks, Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors, mentioned that in recent years, some foreign enterprises have shifted their investment focus in China from "going global with a foothold in China" to "exploring and developing in China". They are now paying more attention to the potential of regional markets, investment incentives, and business environment.
As a center for international exchanges, Beijing’s business-friendly environment has long been a key factor in attracting enterprises. Peter K N Lam, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, remarked that at the end of last year, the State Council endorsed the Work Plan of Beijing for Deepening Development of Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector, granting Beijing new tasks and opportunities. These initiatives include many measures and policies designed to facilitate the development of Hong Kong enterprises in Beijing, such as supporting doctors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan in establishing clinics, and promoting international cooperation in stem cell and gene research. These efforts have provided greater development opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises and many other foreign-funded enterprises.
The "Beijing Services" also bring greater convenience to foreign enterprises investing and operating in the city. ERGO FESCO, a joint venture established by ERGO and Beijing Foreign Enterprise Human Resources Service Co., Ltd. (FESCO) last year, is among the first foreign-funded companies to receive an insurance brokerage license since 2018. "Thanks to the strong support from Beijing’s various departments at all levels, we can carry out business in the city," said Juergen Peter Schmitz, CEO of ERGO China in an interview. He highly praised "Beijing Services", saying, "Relevant departments took the initiative to provide services, inquiring about the difficulties we encountered and addressing our needs for business development. This made us feel highly supported."
On March 26, the Implementation Plan for Further Optimizing Payment Services to Facilitate Payments in Beijing was officially released; on March 28, the new International Web Portal of Beijing, available in nine languages, was launched to provide one-stop and comprehensive online services for foreign nationals and foreign-funded enterprises. Beijing has made continuous efforts to facilitate foreigners’ work, study, life, and travel in Beijing with meticulous services.
The city’s superior development environment is becoming a new advantage in attracting foreign-funded enterprises. Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman of Schneider Electric, is willing to act as a bridge. "We are not only good friends for Beijing but also the ambassadors of Beijing to the world. We are ready to collaborate with the city to enhance its reputation and appeal worldwide, thus attracting more foreign-funded enterprises to pursue development here."
