The fifth Qingdao Multinationals Summit, jointly hosted by the People's Government of Shandong Province and the Ministry of Commerce, was launched in Qingdao, Shandong province, on August 28. As one of China's most important occasions to boost international cooperation, the Summit has attracted more than 800 guests, including executives of multinational companies (MNCs) and industry experts.
During the Summit, top executives of MNCs told GDToday that they are still eyeing China's substantial business opportunities and welcome the following policies after China's determination to continue its opening up, expand international cooperation, and develop new institutions for a higher standard open economy.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove, former Minister of Foreign Trade of the Kingdom of Belgium and a senior advisor to China, told GDToday that we must all work together to make a bridge again with the Western world because we both need each other. He pointed out that the level of technology here in China is something Europe can learn from. "It's not like we come here to teach you like we are the big professors. It's always a two-way street," he emphasized.
Arjun Purkayastha, SVP & Managing Director of Reckitt Greater China, insisted that China is essential to Reckitt since it's one of the group's biggest markets. "We want to serve 100 million households in China with our products and services. We want to grow in China and with China," said Purkayastha.
Ueda Toshihiro, the Chief Representative of AGC Group for China, indicated that China is a challenging market, enormous in size but with complex and tight competition. "The basic elements and basic attractiveness of the Chinese market still have not changed. So we need more speed and more high technology to win this competition," said Toshihiro.
Andrew Wu, General Manager of Dun & Bradstreet China, focused more on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Wu believed that the GBA has always served as one of his company's core strategies since the area owns a variety of elements and a good ability for technological innovation, with Hong Kong's status as the international financial center and the vast hinterland on the mainland cities.
Wu revealed that D&B is planning to establish two centers in GBA. One is a display and promotion center to showcase the different application scenarios of business data and elements. The other is a center to evaluate services for the global supply chain.
The report Multinationals in China: Sharing New Opportunities of Chinese Modernization was released during the event. The report comprehensively elaborates on the significant contributions of MNCs to the development of China, deeply analyzes the new opportunities inherent in Chinese-style modernization, and provides substantial reference value for MNCs investing in China.
Running until August 29, the Summit features 140 Fortune Global 500 companies, 311 industry-leading enterprises, and 99 MNCs participating for the first time.
Reporter | Hu Nan
Video | Qin Shaolong, Hu Nan
Editors | Nina, James
