MNCs upbeat on shift to high-quality development

As China accelerates its transition toward high-quality development, multinational corporations are doubling down on the country's industrial upgrading and the burgeoning market for specialized digital and green services.

"As China shifts from a high-speed growth phase to one of high-quality development, green, digital and intelligent transformations have become critical directions for industrial progress," Xu Shaofeng, senior vice-president of Schneider Electric and head of medium voltage and service business in China, said at the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing.

"Whether it is equipment renewals, energy conservation and carbon reduction, or artificial intelligence-driven digital transformation, these all place higher demands on specialized services, bringing vast opportunities for the service sector."

The upbeat sentiment aligns with China's continuously improving business environment and steady macroeconomic policies.

According to the European Business in China Business Confidence Survey 2026, released by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and consultancy firm Roland Berger, China remains a highly competitive and dynamic R&D ecosystem, with nearly half of respondents acknowledging that Chinese firms in their industry are now more innovative than their European counterparts.

To help multinational companies better integrate into this vibrant innovation landscape, government officials vowed on Wednesday to further open the nation's services sector. By easing market access and expanding imports of high-quality services, China seeks to create new growth drivers for trade in services and share the unparalleled opportunities of its vast market with the world.

Industry experts echoed this confidence in the nation's economic resilience, saying China's near-term economic prospects indicate resilience and a steady growth trajectory.

Chen Jianwei, a researcher specializing in foreign trade at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, emphasized that China's unwavering commitment to market liberalization is actively expanding the overall capacity for imported goods.

Chen said this continuous opening-up process is generating substantial new avenues for multinational corporations to deepen their footprint and expand their operations within the country's vast domestic market.

This modernization drive is fundamentally reshaping the role of services. Xu pointed out that China is rapidly transforming from a "manufacturing powerhouse" to an "innovation powerhouse", which means services are evolving from traditional auxiliary support into a crucial engine for value creation.

"The future power system will see a deep integration of electrification, digitalization and intelligence, with services acting as the key bond connecting technological innovation and customer value," Xu said.