China will remain a prime long-term destination for global investors, driven by its vast consumer market, deeper opening-up and rapid advances in digital and green technologies, which are reshaping industries and generating fresh growth opportunities, government officials and business executives said at a business conference ahead of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Trade Ministers Meeting, which was held in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on May 22-23. Li Chenggang, China International Trade Representative with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said the nation will continue to remove restrictive measures beyond the negative list. The negative list outlines the specific industries in which foreign investors are either restricted or prohibited from operating.
To create a more attractive investment environment for multinational companies, China will further expand its opening-up in service-related industries, such as telecommunications, healthcare and education, while also promoting the orderly opening-up of the internet and cultural sectors, Li added. The number of comprehensive pilot areas established for expanding the opening-up of the services sector has so far reached 20.
Henry Ding, Senior Vice President of 3M, said the United States-based industrial conglomerate will further scale up research and development (R&D) investment in China this year, and it is targeting more than 30% growth in new product launches compared with 2025, a pace significantly higher than in most other global markets. “These investments help us respond faster to market upgrades, shorten innovation cycles and build a complete local industrial chain from research to testing and manufacturing,” said Ding, who is also Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
Rob Iuppa, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Technimark, a U.S. manufacturer of high-value packaging products for the healthcare, consumer and industrial sectors, said the company expects its investment in China this year “to exceed the level of any of the past three years”. Lee Hyuk-joon, President for China at Hyundai Motor Group, said that China’s rapid development in sectors such as new energy vehicles, intelligent connected vehicles and digital technologies aligns closely with the group’s global transformation strategy. The South Korean automaker plans to deepen cooperation with Suzhou in areas including smart mobility, R&D, supply-chain integration and green technologies, while expanding collaboration with Chinese partners and increasing its participation in China’s industrial upgrading.
Mirroring this momentum, high-tech industries accounted for 32.3% of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China in 2025, with inflows into sectors including e-commerce services, medical equipment manufacturing and aerospace posting strong growth, while returns for foreign-invested companies remained stable. Foreign-funded companies account for one-third of China’s foreign trade, one-quarter of industrial output value and one-seventh of tax revenue, and they support more than 30 million jobs, the China Daily reports.
