Andreas Risch, chair of the Nanjing Chapter of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said it’s quite encouraging to find that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has stressed the country’s pursuit of a more proactive opening up strategy.
As Managing Director of Fette Compacting (China) Co Ltd, he said he has personally witnessed China’s efforts to open up to the outside world and the company’s development has also reflected China's path of reform and opening up.
Living in China for 12 years, he worked as a senior executive in several multinational companies before joining Fette Compacting, a leading German manufacturer of tablet presses and capsule filling machines for the pharmaceutical and nutrition industries. It settled in Nanjing’s Jiangning Development Zone in 2004 and then invested 440 million yuan in 2018 to build a new plant of 21,000 square meters, the company’s largest single investment project in its history. This also reflected the company's confidence in the potential of the Chinese market and its commitment to long-term growth in China. China is the largest market for the company and accounts for 60% of its sales.
“The Jiangsu government is efficient and pragmatic, the province also a strong manufacturing foundation and a huge consumer market. Member companies of the chamber have overcome the impact of the epidemic and remained optimistic about the Chinese market, a result impossible without the good business environment in Jiangsu,” he said.
As an economic powerhouse in China, the province’s use of foreign direct investment ranked highest among province-level regions for 8 out of 10 years since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012. According to Nanjing Customs, in the first 11 months of 2022, Jiangsu’s foreign trade with the EU reached 761.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 10.4%. Members of the chamber in the Yangtze River Delta fully enjoyed the benefits brought by China's high-level of opening up in 2022 amid development milestones such as third anniversary of the Jiangsu Pilot Free Trade Zone and entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
According to Nanjing Chapter’s “2022 Business Confidence Survey”, 96% would not consider shift investment out of China; 94% reached positive or break-even EBIT; and 91% view China as the top 5 investment destination.
Those member companies are confident of the development of the province and China as well as the country’s economic resilience and prospects. Andreas Risch believed there will be a new wave of foreign investment into the country which still holds great appeal for the large market.
Contact us at english@jschina.com.cn
