Global enterprises show confidence in China's economic growth: spokesperson

Photo taken on May 17, 2018 shows a container dock of Yangshan Port in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Global enterprises have displayed their confidence in China's economic growth and future development prospects, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday, quoting survey results.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press conference when answering a relevant question.

"China has not seen and will not see a large-scale withdrawal of foreign capital or the relocation of the industrial and supply chains," Wang said. "On the contrary, due to the stable expectation of China's economic recovery, continuously optimized business environment, and the advantages of a super-large market and domestic demand potential, many foreign-funded enterprises are speeding up their layout in China, and actively exploring the China market.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, China has taken the lead in controlling the epidemic and comprehensively advancing resumption of work and production, Wang said.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3.2 percent year on year in the second quarter, making it the first major economy to achieve positive growth, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 51.1 in July, representing the fifth month in a row that the figure remained in expansion territory, Wang said.

Wang pointed out that a recent questionnaire survey conducted by China's Ministry of Commerce showed that 99.1 percent of foreign-funded enterprises said they would continue to invest and operate in China.

The results of a recent survey of more than 150 enterprises, conducted by the U.S.-China Trade Commission, also showed that China's further opening-up and measures to improve the business environment in recent years have created convenience for foreign enterprises' production and operation in China, and U.S. enterprises are still optimistic about the Chinese market.

New cut-resistant gloves developed by U.S. DuPont are unveiled at the product launching center of the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 6, 2019. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Compared with previous years, more well-known enterprises have signed up for the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), and the average exhibition area of the world's top 500 and industry leaders will increase by 14 percent compared with the second CIIE held last year, which fully shows the confidence of global enterprises in China's economic growth and future development prospects, Wang said.

He stressed that China will continue to open wider to the outside world, and the door of cooperation will be open to all countries.

"We believe that the pie of win-win cooperation between China and other countries will become bigger and bigger," said the spokesperson.

Editor: John Li