The number of multinational companies participating in the China Development Forum for the first time reached a record high this year, underscoring China's appeal as an attractive investment destination for foreign businesses.
The China Development Forum 2025 is being held on Sunday and Monday with the theme of "Unleashing Development Momentum for Stable Growth of Global Economy".
According to the organizer of the event, the forum has brought together 86 official representatives from multinational companies across 21 countries.
Notably, 17 multinationals from eight countries sent official representatives to the forum for the first time, accounting for almost 20 percent of the total number of participating companies.
The executives of many multinational enterprises have brought their latest plans to expand investment and establish research and development centers in China, as they expressed confidence in the country's innovation-friendly business environment.
"We are bringing technology. We are innovating in China. We are localizing in China. We are very committed to the Chinese market. And I was very happy to hear that China will continue this path and even accelerate," said Holger Klein, CEO of German auto supplier ZF Group.
"We are growing our research and development footprint. Our main R and D center here in Beijing has been massively expanded in the last few years, so we can more or less do anything that is necessary to create the high-tech automobile. And we opened a couple of years ago a second R and D center in Shanghai to get more access to the tech cluster in and around Shanghai as well," said Ola Kallenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group.
Record number of multinationals participate in CDF for first time
