With swift economic recovery, China remains magnet for global firms

BEIJING -- With faster-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter of 2023, China continues to exert a powerful pull for foreign investment, defying the so-called "decoupling" from the country and providing boons to the global economy.

China's gross domestic product grew 4.5 percent year on year to 28.5 trillion yuan (about 4.14 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first three months, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday. The pace has accelerated from 3 percent in 2022 and 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

This indicates a promising start for the Chinese economy, proving that China has the full capacity to drive sustained economic improvement through the precise implementation of macroeconomic policies, unlocking the potential of domestic demand, deepening reforms, and opening up.

The robust recovery of the world's second-largest economy underpins its attractiveness for global investors. The attraction is also rooted in China's intrinsic benefits of a huge market, its industrial and supply chains, and its reform and opening up.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, rose 6.1 percent year on year to 268.44 billion yuan in the first two months of 2023. The country's FDI inflow increased to 1.23 trillion yuan in 2022.

China is dedicated to expanding high-standard opening-up and domestic demand, as well as improving the consumption environment. This commitment will not only boost its consumption, but also generate fresh prospects for the economic growth of other countries.

With the full resumption of on-site activities, the ongoing 133rd China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, has attracted a record number of participating companies and hundreds of thousands of purchasers from over 220 countries and regions. The third China International Consumer Products Expo, which concluded on Saturday in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, saw a record-high 320,000 visits and attracted more than 3,300 brands from 65 countries and regions.

Enterprises have a major say in the vitality of the Chinese economy, and international companies are expanding their business in the country.

Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer, will establish a second final-assembly line in north China's Tianjin. The first assembly line started operations in 2008, and it has since assembled over 600 aircraft of the A320 family.

U.S. carmaker Tesla Inc. has unveiled plans to build a new mega factory in Shanghai, which will be dedicated to manufacturing the company's energy-storage product Megapack. The factory will initially produce 10,000 Megapack units every year, equal to approximately 40 GWh of energy storage.

Against the backdrop of a gloomy global economy struggling with inflation and slow growth projections, international companies are increasing investment in China to attain mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.

German corporations invested a record 11.5 billion euros (about 12.54 billion U.S. dollars) in China in 2022, according to a German Economic Institute report released in late March.

Economic globalization is not only a necessity for fostering productivity growth, but also an irreversible historical trend. Some Western politicians who trumpet "decoupling" are working against the trend of the times. China's unwavering commitment to high-standard opening up serves as a pillar for promoting global prosperity and stability.

With a swift rebound in 2023, China's economy has become a rare highlight amid the challenging global economic landscape. Its competitive advantage in attracting foreign investment will be enhanced, and mutually beneficial trade and investment cooperation between China and other countries will be further expanded. 

The views don't necessarily reflect those of Qiushi Journal.