Recent data indicates a sustained increase in the number of existing foreign-invested enterprises in China over the past three years, with the total now exceeding 530,000 and cumulative foreign investment surpassing $3.6 trillion. The vast majority of these established foreign firms are choosing to deepen their roots in China and continue expanding their investments. Experts and executives from foreign companies note that China's solid economic fundamentals, growing innovative vitality, and continuously improving investment environment make it a fertile ground for global business operations and investment.
Robust Foreign Investment Activity
Figures show that in the first four months of this year, over 20,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.8%. Notably, actual utilized foreign investment in high-tech industries reached approximately 116.33 billion yuan, surging by 20.3% year-on-year. Concurrently, more than 3,000 foreign enterprises have increased their capital commitments. Analysts point to China's enduring and stable appeal for foreign capital, with foreign business operations in the country undergoing continuous upgrades.
China's vast market scale, rich industrial ecosystem, high receptiveness to innovation, well-developed innovation support policies, and comprehensive industrial and supply chain systems collectively form an irreplaceable competitive advantage. This integrated strength is a key reason for the accelerated foreign investment in China's high-tech sector.
For companies like Schneider Electric, the Chinese market holds unique and significant importance. This is attributed to its prominent market advantages, including a massive consumer base, a complete manufacturing system, and abundant talent resources; significant industrial advantages, with China actively fostering new quality productive forces where energy transition serves as a major growth engine; and notable technological advantages, with China at the global forefront in areas like energy technology and artificial intelligence. Benefiting from these multiple strengths and its long-term strategic presence, China has become Schneider Electric's second-largest global market and a crucial source of innovation and development.
A series of investment projects underscore the confidence foreign enterprises have in the Chinese market. In 2025, T.C. Pharmaceutical continued to expand its investment footprint in China. The second-phase production line of its Red Bull beverage production base in Sichuan, with a total investment of 2 billion yuan, officially commenced operations, while its Red Bull beverage production base in Guangxi, with a total investment of 1.3 billion yuan, was successfully launched. The CEO of T.C. Pharmaceutical highlighted the vast scale and potential of China's consumer market, affirming that the company consistently views China as a core market in its global strategy and is committed to a long-term approach to deepening its presence there. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, T.C. Pharmaceutical's cumulative investment in China has exceeded 4.3 billion yuan.
In October 2025, Medtronic inaugurated its first digital healthcare innovation base in China, located in Beijing. This base focuses on research and development in artificial intelligence and big data technologies, aiming to create intelligent disease management solutions and transform China's medical practices into innovative benchmarks with global demonstration value. The company's senior executive for Greater China noted that China is a vital growth engine for Medtronic's global operations and a source of future-oriented innovation. Within Medtronic's global layout, China is the only market hosting two innovation centers and two venture capital funds.
Continuous Improvement in Business Environment
China's ongoing efforts to optimize its business environment are another key reason for the sustained increase in foreign investment. Reforms in stabilizing and attracting foreign investment have effectively stabilized expectations and boosted confidence among foreign investors. On one hand, China has continuously shortened the negative list for foreign investment access, relaxed market entry restrictions, and improved the legal framework governing foreign investment, ensuring policy stability and continuity to provide institutional safeguards. On the other hand, China has established diverse channels for foreign investors to voice concerns, regularly convening roundtable meetings to accurately listen and respond to their development needs and policy suggestions. A series of practical measures have been implemented to support the stable operation and continued development of foreign enterprises in China.
The President of Henkel Greater China stated that China's concrete actions demonstrate a steadfast commitment to expanding high-level opening-up, creating a more transparent, fair, and predictable business environment. This facilitates companies' deeper integration into China's industrial development and sharing of growth opportunities, enabling firms to confidently locate their innovation, R&D, and core production capabilities in the Chinese market. For Henkel, China is no longer merely a consumer market but a "home" for achieving long-term co-creation and sustainable growth.
Executives from T.C. Pharmaceutical noted that China's series of practical measures in expanding high-level opening-up and optimizing the business environment provide solid support for foreign enterprises to deepen their development in China, giving companies greater confidence in formulating long-term investment strategies. Furthermore, the effective implementation of favorable policies, such as tax credits and deferred taxation for reinvestment, has effectively reduced the cost of reinvestment in China. Leveraging institutional opening-up platforms like the Hainan Free Trade Port and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), T.C. Pharmaceutical can efficiently coordinate resources across the Chinese and ASEAN markets and flexibly optimize its global supply chain and industrial layout. Companies genuinely feel that China not only welcomes foreign investment to "come in" but also encourages it to "stay" and "take root."
Seizing Opportunities to Deepen Presence
Foreign business leaders widely express their intention to seize innovation opportunities in the Chinese market, comprehensively deepen their business layouts in China, and enhance global competitiveness.
Medtronic's executive believes that innovation in China in recent years has been characterized by speed, efficiency, and intelligence, with the country's medical technology industry entering a new development phase of breakthrough innovation. For multinational companies to capture opportunities in the Chinese market, the key lies in deeply integrating into China's economic development landscape, becoming participants and initiators of Chinese innovation. Medtronic has now established a new development goal of "China for the Globe," accelerating the localization of global innovative technologies to benefit domestic patients faster while fully stimulating local innovation to propel Chinese-originated innovations onto the world stage.
Schneider Electric's executive expressed firm belief that "investing in China is investing in the future." The company will continue to deepen its "China Hub" strategy, focusing its investment in China on key areas such as technological innovation, ecosystem collaboration, and talent development. This includes increasing R&D and integrated application of energy technology and AI, fostering innovation across the entire chain from product to solution and from R&D to implementation; collaborating with ecosystem partners to create open, standardized, and replicable industry solutions; and continuously improving the local talent pipeline and skill systems to cultivate professionals with both digital and green capabilities. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Schneider Electric will continue to increase its investment in China, leveraging the country to build a global source of innovation, a supply chain hub, and a growth engine, deepening integrated R&D, production, and sales layouts, promoting the deep integration of AI and energy technology, and collaborating with Chinese partners to build an open and win-win industrial ecosystem.
Henkel's executive noted that in recent years, China's push for deep integration of technological and industrial innovation has led to globally leading development speeds in multiple sectors, with a wealth of innovations rapidly moving from the lab to the market. This market evolution also compels companies to continuously strengthen their local innovation capabilities and co-create value with customers. To this end, Henkel has consistently increased its R&D investment in China, launching significant platforms such as the Consumer Goods Asia R&D Center, the Adhesives Application Technology Center, and the Adhesives Technology Innovation Experience Center. Leveraging these facilities, Henkel will further enhance internal collaboration, deepen joint innovation with customers, and accelerate the localization and transformation of innovative achievements in China.
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