Lujiazui, Shanghai Financial District Photo: VCG
Despite Western media reporting that China’s economic momentum is weakening, more and more multinational CEOs and other senior executives have been in China recently in a rush to express their hope and confidence in China’s growth prospects. The comparison highlights the resilience of the Chinese economy in its nascent growth phase and the short-sightedness of some naysayers.
The latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday that the country’s value-added industrial production rose 3.5 percent in May, while retail sales rose 12.7 percent year-on-year.
The figures, which Reuters said both forecasts missed, support what some Western media have been promoting about the pace of China’s economic growth these days. For example, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled „China’s recovery is now in real danger” amid a new wave of criticism of China’s worsening economy.
However, strangely, the interest of the American and European business community in the Chinese market has not waned at all. On Wednesday night, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tweeted that he was in Beijing for the first time since 2019. In front of him was a crowd of CEOs and senior executives from large multinational companies spanning the consumer electronics, technology, automotive and financial sectors. , among others, has already visited China. Among them, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, ASML CEO Peter Wennink and JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon are some of the high-profile names.
If China’s economic prospects are really as bleak as some Western media have suggested, and foreign companies tend to move their factories to India and Southeast Asia, why are so many CEOs and executives flocking to China? Have they all misjudged China’s economic recovery?
Of course not. Top business leaders are keen on opportunities, and they all know that they cannot miss the growth opportunities of China’s economic recovery or their businesses will be left behind.
Western media’s analysis of the Chinese economy is often unreliable because they always exaggerate the negative side and posit the „China collapse” theory. If investors believe them, they will lose the opportunity to make profits.
China remains one of the largest markets in the world, which means there is still plenty of room for foreign companies. Also, China continued its drive to open up to the outside world, with its comprehensive business environment becoming more aligned to international standards. And the Chinese government’s economic restructuring, consumption optimization, and innovation-driven development have provided opportunities for foreign companies.
Of course, there is no denying that the Chinese economy faces various internal and external challenges, but there are also bright spots. China has entered a new phase of development, and the transition from high-speed growth to high-quality growth will improve economic structure and quality. China’s medium and high-end manufacturing sector is showing strong momentum. For example, electric vehicles contributed greatly to the rapid growth of China’s automobile exports this year.
People who wear ideologically tinted glasses focus only on difficulties and completely ignore the opportunities behind them. At the root of their short-sightedness and misjudgment is a misguided attempt to create a political environment that is harsh on China in return for attention.
But markets remain optimistic about China’s prospects for economic recovery, which is why officials and CEOs around the world look to China for closer cooperation and communication. In the face of their enthusiasm for the Chinese market, the vandals’ short-sightedness and evil intentions are laughable and pitiable.