Products showcasing the latest high-tech innovations were displayed by US companies at the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), including virtual reality (VR), 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models. Companies said that they are still eyeing the Chinese market with confidence, and their supply chains will stay in China.
Tesla, for example, debuted the world’s first new version of the Tesla Model 3, which attracted a lot of Chinese attendees.
The determination of the Chinese government to open wider to the outside world is there for all to see. It has actively welcomed foreign investors into China and provided a more equitable business environment based on the rule of law, internationalization and facilitation, thus providing a sound guarantee for the development of enterprises, Tao Lin, a vice president of Tesla, told the Global Times.
“We are fully confident in the Chinese market, and will better leverage the opportunities of China’s high-level opening-up and increase our investments here,” Tesla China President Wang Hao told the People’s Daily.
As of Wednesday, 2 million Tesla vehicles had rolled off the assembly line at its Shanghai Gigafactory, according to Tesla’s official Sina Weibo account.
Chip giant Intel displayed multiple technical solutions in retail, data centers, AI and other fields. Intel also announced new collaborations during the CIFTIS. It will work with China Mobile’s Migu to jointly engage in content and technology research and related commercialization deployment, the Global Times learned.
Qualcomm, a US leading chipmaker, demonstrated a generative AI model that can fully run on Android smartphones.
The model can quickly understand a user’s needs from their narrative and create the image they want in 15 seconds, without having to access the internet or the cloud, a staffer at Qualcomm’s booth told the Global Times.
In the past three years, Qualcomm demonstrated the cooperative results with Chinese partners via the platform, and this year, it brought the latest cooperation achievements in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and VR, Meng Pu, chairman of Qualcomm China, was quoted by the media as saying.
Thanks to the Chinese government’s strong promotion of green services trade and continuous optimization of the business environment, we have been able to promote the green transformation of enterprises in an open, inclusive, innovative and cooperative environment, and achieve steady and long-term progress, Declan Rooney, president of Johnson & Johnson China, said in a statement sent to the Global Times.
“This not only strengthens our determination to continue to practice green services trade, but also enhances our confidence and belief in long-term deep cultivation in China, the services sector in China,” said Rooney.
The dynamics of the US-China relationship hold far-reaching implications for worldwide economic growth. And we believe that US businesses operating in China contribute positively to the economy and citizens of nations, Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), said on Wednesday at the 2023 Forum on Conformity Assessment Serving Trade Facilitation, a sideline event of the CIFTIS.
Hart said that according to AmCham China’s survey, the majority of their member companies are not considering transferring their supply chains outside of China, and they still see China.
“For many of our members, China is the most important investment destination. And most of our members will continue to invest here and do business here,” said Roberta Lipson, founder of United Family Healthcare and vice-chairman of AmCham China, at a sideline event of the CIFTIS, haiwainet.cn reported.
“Of course the whole world is worried about the future, and all we need is to do our best to continue to create the environment where there’s the opportunity for continued growth,” said Lipson.
Many US companies have revealed expansion plans in China. For example, McDonald’s plans to open more than 900 new stores in China in 2023 and Starbucks plans to open 3,000 new stores in China by 2025. Tyson Foods will open six new plants in 2023, three of which will be in China.
More than 70,000 US companies have invested in and operated in China, with nearly 90 percent of their operations in China profitable, according to the Report on US Exports to China by the US-China Business Council released in May.
China’s purchases of US goods and services supported 1.06 million jobs in the country in 2022, read the report.
(Global Times)
