China giving MNCs strategic forte

Editor's note: Ahead of the release of China's first-half 2026 economic data, China Daily invited chief executives and senior leaders from key multinational companies to share their perspectives on the world's second-largest economy. Their insights go beyond short-term growth, offering a closer look at the evolving "China Opportunity 2.0" narrative amid ongoing debate over the so-called "China Shock 2.0".

Q1 Many multinational companies in recent years continue to expand their investment and operations in China, suggesting that "China Opportunity 2.0" is increasingly offsetting the "China Shock 2.0" narrative. What developments or evidence best demonstrate that China is creating new opportunities for global businesses rather than posing a "shock"?

PRASANNAN: From Everllence's perspective, China is a key market for green innovation, industrial-chain collaboration and the global delivery of net-zero solutions. Across the industry, China's policy direction, continued opening-up, vast maritime and industrial demand, mature manufacturing base and deepening partnership with licensees and industry players are sending strong positive signals. We have long shared these opportunities with our Chinese partners, and we are advancing a more efficient, lower-carbon and sustainable future. Despite the delayed IMO Net-Zero Framework review and the decline in dual-fuel engine orders, China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) offers rare policy certainty. Joint milestones include CMD's record-setting methanol engine and our 2,000th dual-fuel engine order with COSCO Shipping Lines.

CHENG: The most visible change is that China is no longer simply a market that global companies seek to enter; it is increasingly becoming a source of innovation and global growth. China has millions of the world's most active cross-border sellers. We are seeing Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises move beyond simply selling products overseas to start building businesses across multiple markets. This is creating new demand for global payments, compliance, technology and professional services. For Payoneer, China has also become an important strategic hub for product innovation, service development and ecosystem building. To us, this is what "China Opportunity 2.0" means: China's scale, digital capabilities and increasingly global-minded businesses are not only participating in global markets, but also creating new demand, new business models and new opportunities for growth.

XIA: From my perspective, the most compelling evidence is that China is no longer only a large end-market or manufacturing base. It has become an integrated platform where innovation, infrastructure, talent and industrial ecosystems come together to create opportunities for global companies. For Evonik, this opportunity is very tangible. We see China as a market that encourages companies to become faster, more innovative and sustainability. In the first half, we brought several important projects into operation in China, including a new hydrogen peroxide plant in Leshan, Sichuan province, the expansion of our specialty amine production in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, our first AEM technology center for green hydrogen, and the Asia Beauty Science & Innovation Center in Shanghai. These projects reflect not only our confidence in China's market potential, but also our belief that China will remain an important source of innovation and transformation for global businesses.

YIN: With a full spectrum of application scenarios, China's vast market serves as a natural testbed and incubator for technological innovation. It fosters wide-ranging technical cooperation and industrial chain synergy, enabling multinationals like AkzoNobel to reap mutual benefits through deep-rooted local operations. For AkzoNobel, China stands as both a core innovation hub and a critical engine powering our global growth. Upholding our guiding tenet — "Innovate in China, for China, share globally" — we keep expanding our local R&D footprint in the country to address domestic market needs while benefiting global businesses.