Enterprises benefit from nation far-reaching move

One of the most important decisions made by French software company \r\nDassault Systemes last year was to relocate its Asia-Pacific \r\nheadquarters to Shanghai.

The company said strong performance in China justified moving its regional base to the municipality from Japan.

The Chinese market accounted for many of Dassault Systemes' larger \r\ntransactions in Asia last year, spanning the transportation, mobility, \r\nhigh-tech, aerospace, marine and offshore sectors.

The company was given access to China to help with construction of \r\nLeishenshan Hospital－the emergency facility built in Wuhan, the capital \r\nof Hubei province, to respond to COVID-19 in the city.

This access was part of a series of deals the company signed with its\r\n Chinese partners, giving full play to its strengths in 3D design and \r\nengineering software.

Bernard Charles, CEO of Dassault Systemes, said, "The Chinese \r\ngovernment has continued to demonstrate its commitment to further \r\nopening-up, which not only promotes the rapid development, \r\ntransformation and upgrading of China's economy, but also boosts the \r\ndevelopment potential and offers policy dividends for us."

Buoyed by its strong performance in China and expanded opening-up \r\nmeasures, the company is looking to triple the number of its employees \r\nin the country to about 2,000 in the next five to 10 years.

"The determination of the Chinese government to expand opening-up \r\nwill encourage quality-oriented investment on a larger scale, forming a \r\nvirtuous cycle of development and driving continued growth. These \r\nprospects are greatly appealing to our company," Charles said.

Dassault Systemes is just one of many foreign businesses to benefit \r\nfrom ongoing steps taken by China in the past year to open up its \r\neconomy.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the country continued to be a \r\nhot destination for foreign investment last year, with such inflows \r\ngrowing by 6.3 percent year-on-year to reach 899.38 billion yuan ($129.9\r\n billion) between January and November.

Meanwhile, the country has continued to reiterate its commitment to a\r\n level playing field and to create an enabling environment for foreign \r\ncompanies.

The annual tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference last month \r\nstressed the importance of promoting all-around opening-up. It also \r\npledged to continue measures to widen market access, promote fair \r\ncompetition and protect intellectual property rights.

Last year, the country reduced the number of items on its negative \r\nlist for foreign investment from 40 to 33, having cut this list for \r\nthree consecutive years.

Tommy Wu, lead China economist at think tank Oxford Economics in the \r\nUnited Kingdom, said, "Opening up of the financial sector was \r\nsubstantial in 2020, particularly now that foreign firms are allowed to \r\nhold controlling stakes in ventures or branches in China."

He said the industrial and financial sectors in China could benefit \r\nfrom foreign investment, as this is a direct channel to diffuse \r\ntechnology, along with technical and soft skills such as international \r\nbusiness practices coming into the country.

"These will generally help China move up the value-added chain, \r\nbolstering homegrown technology and innovation, as well as improving \r\nglobal competitiveness of Chinese businesses. It is also in China's \r\ninterest to embrace multilateralism, to further integrate and be a key \r\nplayer in the global economy," he said.