At the 9th China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as the "CIIE"), Sean Stein, President of the US-China Business Council, told Sanlihe a popular online challenge among American teenagers - "Tell me without telling me" (translated as "self-evident"). The gameplay is very simple: don’t reveal your identity directly, use a word or an action to let others guess.
Tan Sen applied this challenge to Sino-US investment relations. He believes that if some people still regard China's 1.4 billion consumers as the main factor for US companies to invest in China, it directly exposes their ignorance of the Chinese market.
If it is not just to sell goods, why do foreign companies choose to invest more in China? The CIIE provides an observation window.
In the eyes of some foreign companies, China is a "gym" that can help them build stronger muscles.
As a "full-time student" of the ninth CIIE, Panasonic Group CEO Yuki Kusumi said in an interview with Sanrihe: "The Chinese market is not only a 'training ground', but also a 'real battlefield.'"
He said that Panasonic is deeply integrated into China's industrial infrastructure system and draws experience from the practices of many local strong companies. "China has the best industrial infrastructure in the world. I believe that if we can win in the Chinese market, we can win in the world."
Panasonic is not alone. Intel has also participated in the CIIE for nine consecutive years. Wang Zhicong, chairman of Intel China, mentioned that the role of foreign companies in China has changed from "bringing good products and technologies in" in the 1980s and 1990s to "co-innovation partners". The reason is China's rapidly iterative technology ecosystem.
From "bringing in" to "doing together", both companies point to the same judgment: China is an innovation field that must be involved in order to remain competitive.
But for foreign companies, the prerequisite for military training is the safety and reliability of the venue itself.
"China has a kind of reliability, and this reliability is not stagnant, but has strong self-renewal and upgrading capabilities." Frank Hammes, global CEO of IQAir, told Sanlihe that for a multinational company that needs to do research and development and lay out its supply chain several years in advance, the predictability of the Chinese market means that it can plan in advance and know how to develop sustainably.
This kind of reliability falls on the corporate experience, which is an inclusive system and stable expectations.
Take Dun & Bradstreet, which has participated in the exhibition for seven consecutive years, as an example. Its business mainly uses its global data capabilities to assist enterprises in cross-border trade. Wu Guangyu, President of Dun & Bradstreet China, said in an interview with Sanlihe that China’s economy has strong internal vitality and D&B itself is a beneficiary of China’s high-level opening up.
The CIIE is not only a booth, but also a window for foreign companies to confirm the continued implementation of China's high-level opening up. Only when the rules are clear and the environment is stable can foreign companies dare to make long-term plans and have the confidence to increase investment.
In Tan Sen's view, many years ago, global multinational companies that invested in China valued the "Chinese market" more, but now, these companies value the "Chinese platform" more. American companies favor China not just to “sell goods” but also to find partners.
The CIIE is a key docking platform, allowing companies of different sizes and stages to quickly and effortlessly find opportunities to enter China and deepen their presence in China.
Guillaume Muriset, customer success manager of the Swiss Center, mentioned to Sanlihe that 13 of the 33 brands in the Swiss joint booth at this year’s CIIE are exhibiting for the first time. For a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises that are well-known in their own countries but still unknown in China, the CIIE has greatly lowered the threshold for testing the waters, allowing them to connect with dealers, media and consumers in a centralized manner, so that they can be seen first and then talk about further development.
Michael Starbæk Christensen, the Danish ambassador to China, said that the CIIE is the largest platform for foreign companies to showcase their products and technologies. "This is a place for you to show your abilities, but after the CIIE, you have to go out and prove yourself." The size and importance of the Chinese market and the innovative vitality of the economy are all important factors that attract companies to stay and deepen their development.
This may be the complete answer why foreign companies firmly choose China. They come here not only because of the large market, but also because it can train troops, have stable rules, and have a vibrant ecosystem.
When the whole world is talking about uncertainty, foreign companies that continue to participate in the CIIE and deepen cooperation have shown with their actions that staying in China means staying at the table of global competition.
