Ashraf AboArafe
President Xi Jinping met with representatives of the international business community at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the morning of March 28, 2025.
Xi Jinping welcomed the representatives of the international business community to China and appreciated their tireless efforts in cooperation with China. Xi Jinping emphasized that the People’s Republic of China, since its founding more than 70 years ago, and especially since its implementation of the reform and opening-up policy more than 40 years ago, has succeeded in creating the “two great miracles” of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. This depends on the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China and the unity and struggle of the Chinese people, and is indispensable in the support and assistance of the international community, including contributions from foreign companies operating in China. The reform and opening-up policy has enabled China to rapidly integrate into the global market and make great strides in catching up with the times, and an important driving factor is the active utilization of foreign capital.
These investments by foreign companies in China have contributed to promoting China’s economic development and employment, advancing its technological and administrative progress, and strengthening its reform and opening-up. Practice has proven that foreign companies are important participants in China’s modernization, reform, opening-up, innovation, and creativity, as well as in connecting China with the world and integrating it into economic globalization. In this process, foreign companies have generally earned substantial returns, achieved continuous development and growth, achieved mutual benefit and win-win results, and forged profound friendships with the Chinese people.
Xi Jinping pointed out that China has remained a major contributor and anchor of stability to global economic growth over the years and is currently advancing Chinese-style modernization in an all-round way. Since opening up is a fundamental national policy, China is now strengthening high-level opening-up and expanding institutional opening-up in the areas of rules, regulations, management, and standards with measured steps. It will open the door to greater and greater openness, and it has not and will not change its policy on the use of foreign capital. As the world’s second-largest consumer market and home to the world’s largest middle-income group, China holds enormous potential for investment and consumption. China pursues high-quality development, accelerates green, digital, and smart transformations, and boasts strong industrial integration capabilities, making it the ideal location to implement the outcomes of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. With a relatively comprehensive system of rules, regulations, and procedures for the use of foreign capital, China liberalizes and facilitates trade and investment, creating a first-class business environment based on market rules, international law, and standards. China has long maintained political stability and social security, and is recognized as one of the safest countries in the world. All this demonstrates that China boasts a broad business landscape, promising market prospects, stable policy outlook, and favorable security conditions—precisely fertile ground for foreign investment and business. China has certainly been, remains, and will continue to be the ideal, safe, and effective investment destination for foreign investors. Embracing China means embracing opportunities, trusting China means trusting the future, and investing in China means investing in the future.
Xi Jinping emphasized that the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has established a roadmap and timetable for deepening reform of the system governing foreign investment and outbound investment. In this context, China will continue to expand opening-up, focusing on lowering market access thresholds, ensuring equal treatment for foreign enterprises operating in China, maintaining fair market competition, enhancing communication and exchanges with foreign businesspeople, providing as much convenience as possible for them to trade and invest in China, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign enterprises in accordance with the law. At the same time, China will unswervingly pursue the path of peaceful development and make every effort to create a favorable external environment for the growth of foreign enterprises.
Xi Jinping pointed out that multilateralism is the inevitable choice for overcoming the difficulties and challenges facing the world, and that economic globalization is an irresistible historical trend. China adheres to true multilateralism, promotes inclusive and inclusive economic globalization, actively participates in global economic governance, and works to build an open world economy. Foreign enterprises, especially transnational enterprises, play an important role in maintaining the global economic order and bear significant responsibilities. Together, we must uphold the multilateral trading system, maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and maintain an open and cooperative international environment, thus driving economic globalization forward. The meeting was attended by more than 40 global chairmen and CEOs of foreign enterprises and representatives of chambers of commerce. Raj Subramaniam, President of FedEx Corporation, Ola Kaelenius, Chairman of Mercedes-Benz AG, Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi, George El-Hadiri, CEO of HSBC Group, Toshiaki Higashihara, President of Hitachi, Kwak Noh-jung, President of SK Hynix, and Amin Nasser, President of Saudi Aramco, delivered speeches, saying that China’s steady economic growth under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, through comprehensively deepening reform and expanding openness, has been a key driver of economic growth in the world.
