The Sixth Qingdao Multinationals Summit took place in Qingdao, Shandong Province in east China from June 18 to 20. Themed Connecting the World for Win-Win Cooperation, the event gathered 465 multinational companies from around the world, including 135 Fortune Global 500 firms. Among the 570 participants, 131 attended for the first time, reflecting China's continued appeal to foreign investors and its commitment to shared growth.

Multinationals in China

Multinational corporations serve not only as active drivers of economic globalization, but also as vital participants in China's modernization drive, promoting interconnectivity of the world.

These companies play a crucial role in stabilizing foreign investment and foreign trade. Data from the General Administration of Customs (GACC) show that, in the first quarter of 2025, total import and export value of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs)—which include joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned enterprises and foreign-invested partnerships—reached 3 trillion yuan ($418 billion), demonstrating positive growth for four consecutive quarters. According to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), in 2024, China established 59,000 new foreign investment enterprises, an increase of 9.9 percent year on year, with actual foreign investment use amounting to $116.2 billion.

Multinationals also contribute considerably to China's modern industrial system. MOFCOM data show that, as of late 2024, foreign investment in China covered 20 industry categories and 115 industry sectors. Multinationals in China contribute one fourth of China's industrial added value and one seventh of tax revenue, as well as create over 30 million jobs.

However, economic globalization is facing countercurrents as trade protectionism and unilateralism severely impact the international economic and trade order. As uncertainty in global economic growth and global investment development remains, China continues to be an attractive destination for foreign investment.

The appeal

Why is China attractive to foreign investors? China's large consumer market and the ongoing trend of consumption upgrading offer expanding opportunities for multinationals. The scale and diversity of the domestic market allow companies to grow steadily, and many have seen their revenues and profits increase over the years. In 2024, China's total retail sales of consumer goods came to 48.3 trillion yuan ($6.8 trillion). The country has solidified its position as the world's second largest consumer goods market. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics reveal that, from 2019 to 2024, the total operating revenue of overseas-invested industrial enterprises above the designated size nationwide—industrial firms with annual business revenue exceeding 20 million yuan ($2.8 million)—increased from 23.4 trillion yuan ($3.4 trillion) to 26.8 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion), accounting for about 20 percent of China's GDP. Total profits of industrial enterprises above designated size with investment from overseas, including investments from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, as well as Taiwan Province, increased from 1.6 trillion ($232 billion) to 1.8 trillion yuan ($253 billion).

Multinational companies are leveraging China's well-developed supply chain and innovation capabilities to sharpen their global competitiveness. In the field of new-energy vehicles, for example, Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory has become one of the company's most important production hubs, with most components locally sourced.

Chief Operating Officer of London Export Corporation Jonathan Mitchell told Beijing Review: "China is no longer just producing simple goods. It is now manufacturing highly sophisticated products that are exported around the world. The country is no longer seen merely as a manufacturing hub—it has become a center for innovation. That's incredibly exciting, especially given the world-class research and development (R&D) as well as supply chains here, which enable international companies to scale and grow their businesses in China."

China has continued to improve its business environment. The government has steadily advanced policy reforms to provide foreign companies with greater predictability and openness. Market access barriers have been lowered, particularly in manufacturing. New policy initiatives, including the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, which was approved by the State Council, the highest state administrative body, in February, are further enhancing investor confidence.

"Both the central and local governments in China are actively promoting openness and fostering a business-friendly environment. This helps create a more predictable and transparent setting for international companies to explore opportunities," Unny Sankar, Minister of Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Malaysia in China, said.

China is also building a global network of high-standard free trade zones and advancing cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, a China-proposed initiative to boost connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. Rules related to intellectual property, e-commerce and cross-border movement of goods and capital are being fine-tuned. These efforts are creating a more open and transparent business environment.

"There is enormous potential for cooperation between China and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Together, we represent a market of 2.1 billion people. In recent years, we've worked closely through both the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). These frameworks have significantly lowered trade and investment barriers, making the region even more attractive for cross-border business," said Sankar.

The RCEP is a free trade pact comprising the 10 ASEAN member states and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The landmark RCEP is the world's largest free trade deal to date.

Going global

As global economic uncertainty and instability grow, Chinese companies are stepping up efforts to expand overseas and deepen cooperation with other countries. These outbound moves are providing new momentum for global economic recovery and resilience.

During the Qingdao summit, Haier Group, a multinational consumer electronics and home appliances company, signed a cooperation agreement with a company in Algeria. Zhou Yunjie, CEO of Haier, elaborated, "We see great opportunities for collaboration with multinational companies in global supply chains. For example, we are working with a local partner in Algeria to build a home appliance industrial park, which will produce refrigerators and other goods, and export related technologies across the African market."

Haier represents the broader trend of Chinese companies "going global." As China continues to open up further, more homegrown multinationals are expanding their presence around the world. According to the MOFCOM, Chinese companies have established 48,000 overseas subsidiaries in 189 countries and regions, with major investments in sectors such as leasing and business services, manufacturing, retail and finance. Much of this investment has been directed to Belt and Road partner countries in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Chinese outbound investment is also playing a growing role in supporting the development of other emerging economies. Mohammed Saqib, Secretary-General of the CHIMENA Business Council, said, "China is playing an important role by transferring technology to other countries—particularly in regions like the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia—where there is a growing demand for solutions in environmental protection, renewable energy, and advanced technologies such as space science. In these areas, China can help drive development across the Global South. This presents strong potential for partnerships between Chinese companies and international enterprises."

To foster sustainable international growth, Chinese companies are also working to improve localization strategies. Zhou shared Haier's approach: "Globalization must be rooted in localization. In every country, we aim to integrate with the local culture and meet consumer needs. That's why we follow a 'three-in-one' model: local R&D, local manufacturing and local sales."

Taking Haier's experience in the U.S. market as an example, the company acquired American home appliances brand GE Appliances in 2016. Since then, the company has managed to double its business scale and triple its profits in the United States, showing strong resilience despite trade tensions and shifting tariffs.

This year's Qingdao summit served not only as a platform for global exchange, but also as a clear signal of China's commitment to high-level opening up. With its strengths in market size, industrial infrastructure, policy stability, and innovation capacity, China continues to offer vast opportunities for international business.

At the same time, Chinese companies are encouraged to strengthen global partnerships; support stable industrial and supply chains; and promote a more open, inclusive and cooperative global economy.

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

Comments to wangruohan@cicgamericas.com