This panoramic aerial photo taken on Jan. 10, 2023 shows a view of Lujiazui area in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)
BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Amid drastically evolving global economic landscapes, multinational companies are turning to China for further growth. A number of renowned foreign enterprises have launched new projects, built R&D centers and strengthened their localized supply chains in Shanghai, expanding their presence in the Chinese market.
Shanghai has always been among global investment destinations and preferred locations for multinationals to deploy their global industrial and supply chains. In 2024, the city attracted 60 regional headquarters of foreign companies and 30 foreign-funded R&D centers, and saw the establishment of nearly 6,000 new foreign-invested enterprises, with actual utilized foreign capital exceeding 17.6 billion U.S. dollars.
-- "Vote of confidence" from leading multinationals
German chemical giant BASF announced an investment of 500 million yuan (approximately 68 million U.S. dollars) to expand its Cellasto factory in Pudong New Area on April 14. The factory will boost the growth of China's electric vehicle (EV) sector by providing advanced solutions on noise reduction, vibration attenuation and comfort enhancement.
The company remains optimistic about the future of China's EV sector, and looks forward to a closer partnership with Pudong New Area, according to Xu Yibin, BASF vice president and general manager of the Pudong site.
Meanwhile, Beiersdorf, a leading German cosmetics company, also doubles down on the Chinese market. An executive of Beiersdorf confirmed that the headquarters had invested 31.42 million U.S. dollars in Nivea (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in 2025, focusing on three strategic priorities including localized formula R&D, smart production line upgrades, and precision marketing.
According to Sally Loh, president of Otis China, the U.S. elevator company will continue to increase its R&D investment in the Chinese market.
-- Reinforcement of localized supply chains
Expanding local production and building more resilient supply chains have become key priorities for multinational companies in shifting their strategies in China.
MAHLE, a German manufacturer of auto parts, has achieved a 90 percent localization rate in its China operations and plans to further increase the rate by approximately 5 percentage points, said Shen Liangyu, president of MAHLE China.
In addition, Vincent Boinay, president of L'Oreal North Asia Zone and CEO of L'Oreal China, said that the company will step up investment in China in multiple dimensions. Following the establishment of the Suzhou intelligent operation center, another center will soon be launched in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province.
-- Certainty of Chinese market
The certainty of the Chinese market comes from its status as the world's second largest market for consumer goods, and the ongoing consumption upgrading. In addition, China's efforts in energy transition, green development, intelligent manufacturing, digital transformation and other aspects align with the R&D and business orientations of Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), a global agricultural merchant and processor, said Jerrity Chen, head of North Asia at LDC.
Meanwhile, Bai Binyi, executive vice president of Business Group Electronics China at FORVIA HELLA and member of the Executive Board Electronics of HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA, noted that intelligent connected vehicles (ICV), as a major part and key industry in Pudong's development, underpins the company's innovation and market development in the field of smart mobility, which is highly consistent with its follow-up planning.
Furthermore, Beiersdorf has chosen Shanghai as the global launch site for many innovative products, crediting the municipal government's continuous policy and service improvements, according to the company's executive.
(Edited by Yang Linlin with Xinhua Silk Road, linlinyanglyn@163.com)
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