ThedynamismoftheChinamarkethaslongbeenseenbymanyEuropeanbusinessesasanimportantcontributortotheirglobalcompetitiveness.Inadditiontomanufacturingcapabilities,convenientlogisticsalsomakesChinaanidealsupplierofalmosteverything."Thekeyquestionisn'twhetherornotIshouldinvestinChinasomuchashowmuchIshouldinvest,"RayDaliowrote.BEIJING,April27(Xinhua)--Forthosewhojustsitinofficesandfocussolelyonnumbers,itwillremainanopenquestionwhetherChinaislosingitsalluretomultinationalcorporationsandbecoming"un-investable."Foreigndirectinvestment(FDI)inChinaexperiencedayear-on-yeardecreaseinthefirstquarterofthisyear,whilethenumberofnewlyestablishedforeign-investedcompaniessawasignificantgrowthof20.7percent.Moreover,FDIinhigh-techmanufacturingoccupiedalargerproportionofthetotal.BehindthesefiguresareglobalinvestorsexitingtheChinamarketenmasseorincreasingtheirbetsinstead?Xinhuareporterstravelledtothecountry'seasternandsouthernregions,wheremostforeign-fundedfirmsarelocated,tolearnabouttheirtakeoninvestinginChinaandwhattheyaredoingandplanningtodo."RISKY"TODECOUPLEU.S.foodgiantKraftHeinz'sAsiaheadquarters,whichwasrelocatedfromSingaporetoShanghaidueto"thegrowingimportanceofChinabusiness,"wasofficiallycertifiedrecentlybytheShanghaigovernment."Chinahasalargepopulationandvastmarketspace,andthedemandfordiversifiedandhigh-endconsumptionisincreasingdaybyday,"saidFredericoFreireJardim,AsiaPresidentofKraftHeinz,whichwillinvest320millionyuan(45millionU.S.dollars)inChinathisyearafterinvesting670millionyuanoverthepastthreeyears.GermanchemicalgiantBASF'sVerbundsiteinZhanjiangcity,southChina'sGuangdongProvince,monthsagostartedproductionofTPU,amaterialwidelyusedinnewenergyvehicles(NEVs),biologicalmedicineandothersectors."Chinaisnowtheworld'slargestchemicalmarketandithasgreatstrategicimportanceforBASF,"saidHaryonoLim,PresidentofMegaProjectsAsia,BASF(China)CompanyLtd.,Shanghai.TheVerbundsiteinZhanjiangwithatotalinvestmentofsome10billioneuros(10.7billionU.S.dollars),whichisBASF'slargesteveroverseasinvestment,willbecomeanimportantplatformforthecompanytoachieveprofitabilityandsustainablegrowthinChinainthefuture,Limadded.Manyothermultinationalsarealsostrikinggoldinthegiganticmarketoftheworld'ssecondlargesteconomythatgrew5.2percentlastyeardespitethelukewarmglobalrecovery.AworkeroperatesatBoschHydrogenPowertrainSystems(Chongqing)Co.,Ltd.insouthwestChina'sChongqingMunicipality,April19,2024.(Xinhua/HuangWei)Infiscalyear2022/23,ZEISSinGreaterChinageneratedannualrevenuetotaling13.5billionyuan,up22percentcomparedtotheprioryear.BoschGroup'ssalesinChinaincreased5.2percentlastyearto139.1billionyuan,whichaccountedforaboutonefifthofitsglobaltotal.ThedynamismoftheChinamarkethaslongbeenseenbymanyEuropeanbusinessesasanimportantcontributortotheirglobalcompetitiveness,accordingtoareportbytheEuropeanUnionChamberofCommerceinChina."ManymembersviewdetachingfromtheChinesemarketasbeingthemainrisktotheirglobaloperations,"thereportread."CRITICAL"SUPPLYCHAIN,INNOVATIONInRugaocityofeastChina'sJiangsuProvince,workshopsofSwedishtruckmakerScaniaarebeingbuiltinfullswing.Thenewfactoryisexpectedtolaunchproductionin2025andeffectivelyraisethecompany'sglobalproductioncapacitywithanannualoutputof50,000trucks.MatsHarborn,PresidentofScaniaChinaGroup,hailedChina'sleadingpositionininnovation,particularlyinareassuchaselectrification,autonomousdrivingandintelligentconnectedvehicles."WewanttotapintotheinnovativepowerofChinaandalsoitssupplychains,"HarborntoldXinhua,explainingwhyScaniamadeitslargestoverseasinvestmentinoversixdecades.Boastingthemostcompleteandlargestindustrialsystemontheplanet,Chinahasbeentheworld'sNo.1manufacturingcountryfor14consecutiveyears,withtheaddedvalueofthemanufacturingsectoraccountingforabout30percentoftheworld'stotal.Inadditiontomanufacturingcapabilities,convenientlogisticsalsomakesChinaanidealsupplierofalmosteverything.AccordingtotheLogisticsPerformanceIndexcompiledbytheWorldBank,ChinaoutperformsdevelopedeconomiesliketheUnitedStatesintermsoflogisticsinfrastructure.AreportbytheauditingandconsultingfirmPwCshowedthatover70percentofsurveyedmultinationalfirmshighlyrecognizedtheuniqueadvantagesofChina'ssupplychain.AppleCEOTimCookattendstheopeningofanewflagshipApplestoreineastChina'sShanghai,March21,2024.(Xinhua/LiuYing)"There'snosupplychainintheworldthat'smorecriticaltousthanChina,"AppleCEOTimCooksaidlastmonthinShanghai,reiteratingthecompany'slong-termcommitmenttotheChinesemarket.TheeraofChinaattractingforeigninvestorswithlow-costlaborhasended,anditsvasttalentpoolhasinsteadbecomeanewdrawforcompanieslikeApple."Theproductswedorequireadvancedtooling.IntheUnitedStates,Iamnotsureourtoolingengineerscanfillaroom.InChina,youcanfillmultiplefootballfields,"Cooksaid."POSITIVE"BUSINESSFORECASTSincethestartoftheyear,foreignbusinesspeoplehavebeenflockingtoChinainhopeofleveragingnewbusinessopportunitiesasChinacontinuestodeepenreformandopeningupaswellaspursuehigh-qualitydevelopment.Earlierthismonth,GermanChancellorOlafScholzvisitedChongqing,ShanghaiandBeijing,accompaniedbyseniorexecutivesofsuchmultinationalcompaniesasSiemens,BMWandMercedes-Benz.VenuesoftheChinaDevelopmentForum,theBoaoForumforAsia,theChinaInternationalConsumerProductsExpoandtheChinaImportandExportFairwereallbustlingwithbignamesseekingwin-wincooperation.ThisaerialphototakenonJuly5,2023showstheTianjinfactoryofDanfoss,aglobalrefrigerationindustrygiant,innorthChina'sTianjin.(Xinhua)"China'sreaffirmedpledgetofurtheropen-upandimprovethebusinessenvironment,especiallythegovernment'svowtoprotectintellectualpropertyrights,givesusstrongconfidencetocontinueinvestinginChina,"saidKimFausing,PresidentandCEOofDanfoss,aDanishenergyefficiencysolutioncompany.DuringtheChinaBusinessClimateSurvey2024conductedbytheAmericanChamberofCommerceinChina,itsmembercompaniesreported"amorepositivetwo-yearbusinessforecast,drivenbyopportunitiesincarbonneutralityandexpectationsofcontinuedeconomicreformsinChina."Theupbeatsentimentwasconfirmedinthe2024KearneyFDIConfidenceIndex,whereChinajumpedfromtheseventhpositiontothethird,andalsoretainedthetopplaceofemergingmarkets."Thekeyquestionisn'twhetherornotIshouldinvestinChinasomuchashowmuchIshouldinvest,"RayDalio,founderoftheworld'slargesthedgefundBridgewaterAssociates,wroteinarecentarticle.ReportingbyShiHao,TaiBeipingEditor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.