Multinational firms keen on work report angle

Release Time:

2022-06-14 23:31

Editor's Note: Amid challenges including geopolitical tensions and the tightening policies by major central banks, the focus has been on how the two sessions-the annual sittings of China's national legislature and top political advisory body-map out this year's policy agenda to navigate the world's second-largest economy through headwinds and further open up its vast market to the rest of the world. China Daily spoke with multinational executives about their takes on the two sessions, expectations for China's high-quality development and new opportunities they are seeking in the country.

Q1: Looking at 2022, what are some of the new opportunities that China's high-level opening-up has offered to your company?

Q2: This year's Government Work Report has rolled out a host of policies to push high-quality development, such as making economic growth more balanced, green and innovation-driven. What do you think of prospects for China's high-quality development? How will your company seize related opportunities?

Q3: How do you evaluate your company's recent performance in China? As the Government Work Report has mapped out measures to bolster economic growth, what are the expectations of your company's growth potential in China this year?

Q4: Against the backdrop of rising headwinds to globalization and the potential risks of decoupling, how do you see the room for cooperation with your Chinese partners? Do you have any plans to deepen industrial cooperation with your Chinese partners this year?

A1 We look forward to China's unwavering efforts to expand high-level opening-up by signing and implementing more free trade agreements and shortening negative lists. We also welcome policies to further ease market access and create a more transparent and open business environment. All these elements will boost the confidence of multinational companies in the long term.

In our particular case, we have been constantly upgrading our regional headquarters in Pudong, Shanghai, to better serve our regional markets.
A2 We believe sustainable and green development require advances in technology and innovation, and China's determination to pursue high-quality growth is exactly on the right path. To accelerate innovation, we are actively leveraging external resources in China. For example, Covestro last year joined Pudong's Group Open Innovation plan－a government initiative to boost collaborative innovation.

A3 China continued to be Covestro's single largest market in 2021, and we are upbeat about our growth here thanks to the country's resilient economy, its ultra-large market and well-established industrial support capacities and infrastructure.

As China's industrial and consumption upgrades pick up pace and carbon neutrality initiatives materialize in the decades ahead, huge opportunities will emerge in industries such as renewable energy and electric vehicles for global companies like Covestro. We believe demand for our high-end materials will remain strong, in particular for those sustainable materials that can support the low-carbon development of both industries and society.

A4 As China further opens up and delivers on its carbon ambitions, we, together with our partners, are encouraged to look for more room to grow here with our growing portfolio focused on circularity. Covestro just announced an ambitious goal to become operationally climate neutral by 2035. I think this target won't be possible if we cannot deliver it in China. Therefore, I only see more partnerships here in this regard.

A5 We believe China will continue to drive global economic recovery and it will continue to offer unprecedented opportunities for multinationals like Covestro in industries such as automobiles, construction and electronics. Covestro regards China as its home market, where our cumulative investment has exceeded 3.8 billion euros ($4.27 billion) to date. Just last November we announced a plan to build a new plant for elastomers in Shanghai and we are committed to continuous investments in the country, in particular in low-carbon production and the circular economy to contribute to a climate-neutral future and the well-being of people.

Q5: The US Federal Reserve is planning measures to tighten its policy, which has raised concerns among some that global capital might be drawn back to the United States. Will the Fed's tightening affect your investment plans in China? Do you have any plans to boost investment or increase your employees in China this year?

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