(Ninth China International Import Expo) Multinational companies leverage China’s innovation power to connect to global opportunities

"For U.S. companies, the Chinese market is important, and China's innovation capabilities are even more important." Tan Sen, chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Service during the 9th China International Import Expo.

This judgment reflects the changes in multinational companies' understanding of the Chinese market. For them, China is not only an important market, but also an important link in the company's global innovation chain.

Takao Yagi, chairman and president of Toshiba (China) Co., Ltd., is deeply impressed by the speed of innovation in China. He said that China's new technologies can often be completed in a relatively short period of time from innovative ideas to field testing and commercial application, and the practical and large-scale process of technology is accelerating. The experience accumulated in the Chinese market can provide reference for expanding into other markets.

At this CIIE, the representative exhibits that debuted globally, first in Asia, and first in China hit a record high, covering cutting-edge fields such as advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence. The CIIE has become the “first venue” for global innovation, confirming the innovation gravity of the Chinese market.

Matias Campodonico, Global Vice President of International Affairs of Dow Corporation of the United States, said that the Chinese market is not only able to quickly promote innovation, but also has the ability to quickly expand the scale of innovation results and bring them to the market.

Kang Boli mentioned that for Dow, China has always been an important market for developing and testing new technologies. It is also an important base for local teams to carry out innovative research and development and promote the results to other regions around the world. Dow has the world's largest integrated R&D center outside the United States in Shanghai, with more than 80 world-class laboratories and more than 300 scientists conducting innovative R&D for different markets around the world.

Accelerating the transformation of innovative achievements is inseparable from good ecological support. Gu Yue, Vice President of Schneider Electric, believes that China has a complete industrial chain, and the gathering of innovative forces from enterprises, universities, and scientific research institutions provides good conditions for technology research and development and industrial collaboration.

Wang Zhicong, chairman of Intel China, mentioned that in the past ten years, China's technology industry has developed rapidly and formed a relatively complete industrial chain ecosystem and scientific research system. In areas such as software, hardware, models, and servers, Intel can find partners in China to leverage their respective technological advantages through collaborative innovation.

The improvement of China's innovation capabilities has also further helped multinational companies expand their global business. Taking Schneider Electric as an example, it has established R&D bases in Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Wuxi, and Shenzhen. Gu Yue emphasized that Schneider Electric's innovation achievements rooted in China not only deeply empower the development of the Chinese market, but also continue to inject momentum into global business.

Liu Xinyu, general manager of Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd., said that the company's "in China, global" strategy clearly regards China as a global innovation and export base. Models developed in China can be exported to the global network, and China's new energy technologies will also be exported to overseas markets.

From "in China" to "co-innovation with China" to "Chinese innovation going global", the development connotations of multinational enterprises in China are becoming increasingly rich. A more innovative Chinese market will also inject more development momentum into global companies. (over)