Though facing a new round of COVID-19 flare-ups and uncertainties in the global economic recovery, foreign enterprises have confidence in the Chinese market thanks to a slew of resolute, precise and comprehensive anti-epidemic measures.
In Shanghai, where over 60,000 foreign-invested enterprises contribute about one-third of the city's tax revenue, a quarter of its GDP, and two-thirds of its foreign trade, promising investment prospects, high-level opening up and the favorable business environment have made the metropolis still an attractive destination for foreign investors.
The city's actual foreign investment reached more than 2.37 billion U.S. dollars in January, up 26.6 percent year on year, and Shanghai also witnessed the establishment of 276 wholly foreign-owned enterprises in the month, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.
STRONG GROWTH DESPITE EPIDEMIC
At 7 a.m. Tuesday, a stream of shuttle buses for commuting employees began to enter Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory.
"Although we encountered a series of problems with inter-provincial transportation, procurement of anti-epidemic materials and staffing, production returned to normal with the help of the local authorities," said Tao Lin, vice president of Tesla.
Tesla's Shanghai factory exported 33,315 vehicles in February this year, up 339 percent year on year, maintaining its status as one of the U.S. electric carmaker's main export hubs.
Last year, the factory delivered more than 160,000 vehicles to overseas markets, meeting the needs of over 10 countries and regions in Europe and Asia.
"We are fully confident in the future development of the Chinese market," Tao said. "China has always been able to respond to the epidemic effectively while opening its doors firmly. It has become an important engine of global economic growth."
Coordinating epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, Shanghai is making every effort to maintain normal operations, which has enabled factories, including those that are foreign-owned, to run smoothly, contributing to the global manufacturing industry.
To ensure the non-stop supply of cancer drugs amid the epidemic rebound, nearly 100 employees in a factory of Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading pharmaceutical company, have been living in the factory in Shanghai's Zhangjiang High-tech Park since March 16.
"Cancer drugs are very special, the production of which shall not be suspended," said Wang Bin, general manager of Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals China. "Since the recent resurgence, the whole company has been working together to guarantee the continued supply of anti-cancer medicines."
