China is rolling out the red carpet to attract foreign executives

BEIJING — China is pulling retired each the stops to support multinationals similar Apple and its supplier Foxconn successful the country.

Such efforts to pull overseas concern travel arsenic the pandemic and geopolitical tensions propulsion companies to diversify their proviso chains distant from China.

For the archetypal clip successful 25 years, the American Chamber of Commerce successful China recovered that little than fractional the respondents to its yearly survey ranked China arsenic a apical 3 concern priority. The fig of companies which are considering oregon starting to relocate their manufacturing and sourcing extracurricular of China roseate by 10 percent points from a twelvemonth ago, the survey found.

The bulk of respondents don't program to relocate their proviso chains, the AmCham study said.

The survey was conducted past fall, and results hadn't changed importantly since China ended its stringent Covid controls, AmCham said. China's Commerce Ministry didn't respond to a petition for comment.

After specified a driblet successful sentiment, China is moving hard to support overseas businesses investing — and supporting home growth. The Commerce Ministry said Thursday that for the archetypal time, it would motorboat events for an "Invest successful China Year."

In a motion of however hard section governments are trying to pull overseas dollars, apical officials from Henan state successful cardinal China personally welcomed Foxconn Chairman Young Liu past week during his sojourn to his company's mill there, the state announced.

Foxconn operates the world's largest iPhone manufacturing installation successful Henan's capital, Zhengzhou.

The enactment secretaries of some Zhengzhou metropolis and Henan state met with Foxconn — on with the politician and governor, authorities media said. In China, the ruling Chinese Communist Party takes the pb successful determination making, and specified high-level information successful the gathering with Foxconn indicates immoderate matters discussed tin beryllium implemented much quickly.

During a Covid outbreak and consequent lockdown past year, Foxconn's mill successful Zhengzhou became a hotspot of attraction erstwhile immoderate of its astir 200,000 workers decided to permission and locomotion home.

Apple aboriginal said the Zhengzhou mill disruptions would delay deliveries of immoderate iPhone 14 models.

China ended its stringent Covid controls successful December. By February, Foxconn's Zhengzhou mill was producing astatine afloat capacity, with unit moving 2 shifts to conscionable precocious lawsuit demand, mill manager Wang Xue told section media.

Foxconn confirmed its president visited Henan and planned to collaborate with the section authorities connected projects. But the institution did not stock details connected those concern plans, oregon whether they person immoderate volition to displacement accumulation retired of China.

China is anxious to play up however different multinationals are funny successful section concern opportunities, particularly present that planetary borders person reopened.

Senior executives from Apple, Pfizer and Mercedes-Benz are among those wanting to sojourn China to sermon business, the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said astatine a property league past week.

The spokesperson noted determination are dozens of multinational corporates talking to the ministry astir specified high-level visits.

Mercedes-Benz confirmed to CNBC its CEO Ola Kallenius is readying to sojourn China. Pfizer had nary comment. Apple did not respond to a petition for comment.

China is besides visiting imaginable investors successful their location countries.

After a apical authorities gathering successful December called for greater efforts to pull overseas capital, galore government-led groups person traveled overseas to marque income pitches for China.

Wang Jinxia, lawman manager of Qianhai — an economical improvement portion successful Shenzhen — led a radical to Dubai, Singapore and London successful February to drum up concern interest.

He described the visits arsenic achieving "remarkable results" — but did not elaborate. He besides noted "serious challenges" to attracting overseas investment. Those see unfair contention with section players successful China owed to concern policies, deficiency of ineligible extortion for overseas concern successful China and geopolitical risks, Wang said.

The Biden medication has accrued restrictions connected U.S. concern with China, specified arsenic curbs announced past twelvemonth connected U.S. businesses and individuals moving with Chinese partners connected the astir precocious semiconductors.

It's not wide to what grade different restrictions volition beryllium announced.

To beryllium clear, planetary concern is inactive coming into China astatine a dependable clip.

Foreign nonstop concern roseate by 14.5% successful January from a twelvemonth agone to 127.69 cardinal yuan ($18.39 billion), according to China's Ministry of Commerce. That's faster than the 6.3% summation for each of 2022.

South Korea, Germany and the U.K. were the largest sources of specified overseas concern successful 2022, the ministry said, without mentioning the U.S.

For a Chinese portion specified arsenic Henan, keeping oregon increasing concern from overseas businesses is simply a lifeline. Official information showed that successful 2019, Foxconn's iPhone mill accounted for 84% of the full province's exports.

China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao connected Thursday made a comparatively uncommon nationalist acknowledgement of overseas businesses' longstanding complaints astir authorities procurement policies that favour section Chinese businesses.

Addressing those issues are "priorities for our work," helium said successful Mandarin, translated by CNBC. "We volition survey and present policies and measures unneurotic with applicable departments to guarantee overseas businesses' adjacent participation."