Workers inspect milk powder at a Danone factory in China. [Photo/WeChat account: scofcom]

The novel coronavirus outbreak would not affect the confidence of foreign companies in China in the long term, said Gao Guolei, managing partner of Zhanghe Capital and a senior visiting scholar at Columbia University in the United States.

By adjusting their investment structure, some foreign investors will even gain more opportunities to invest in China, Gao said.

The confidence of foreign enterprises in China is based on the potential of the consumer market, signs of economic recovery and many favorable policies.

"In the short term, the outbreak will inevitably have an impact on the Chinese economy. But in the long run, we remain confident in the potential of the Chinese market," said an official of the French-based Danone's Nutricia. The company plans to increase its investment in China, especially in lower-tier cities, in the future.

Unilever (China) also showed its confidence in the country. The company has been established in China for nearly 100 years and during the SARS outbreak in 2003, none of its foreign executives in China left. At this special moment, the company will give full play to its advantages and fight against the epidemic, according to officials.

The confidence of foreign enterprises in China is also reflected in their participation in gathering emergency stocks of public health and epidemic prevention materials.

The Shanghai government held a signing ceremony for the supply and reserving of anti-epidemic materials on Feb 13. Three foreign enterprises – 3M, Dupont and O&M Halyard – signed a letter of intent for strategic cooperation in the supply and reserving of anti-epidemic supplies with the Shanghai Grain and Material Reserve Bureau.

These enterprises said the cooperation gives them a glimpse of the Shanghai government's long-term strategies for stocking epidemic prevention supplies, and that they will rely on production bases in Shanghai and around the world to help manage the government's emergency inventory.

At the same time, on Feb 8, Shanghai announced 28 new measures to fully prevent and control the epidemic and to support the stable and healthy development of enterprises.