Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, also voiced confidence in the growth of the Chinese market in September.
Jaguar Land Rover, a British luxury car brand owned by India's Tata Motors, sold 122,010 cars in China last year, up 28 percent from 2013. The company also cited the Chinese market as the primary reason for its fifth successive year of growth in global sales.
The automotive industry is vital to the British economy. It has an annual turnover of over 60 billion pounds (88.43 billion U.S. dollars). Around 770,000 jobs depend on the industry, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited (SMMT) showed.
China has taken a number of steps to provide easier market access for inbound foreign investment and explore the possibility of management based on a pre-establishment national treatment (PENT) and negative-list approach, which means all sectors are open to foreign investment except those specifically listed.
PENT means that foreign investors and their investments will be accorded national treatment in the pre-establishment phase of their businesses. "Negative list" refers to activities to which national treatment and most favored nation status do not apply.
"By so doing, we aim to address the legitimate concerns of foreign investors in a timely manner, protect their lawful rights and interests, and foster a level playing field with open and transparent laws and policies, along with a more efficient administration," said Chinese President Xi Jinping in a written interview with the Wall Street Journal last month.
According to surveys by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and other authoritative international bodies, China remains the world's most attractive investment destination.
Claims about a changing investment climate in China and foreign investors losing confidence in China are not backed by facts.
In 2014, China received 120 billion U.S. dollars in foreign investment, more than any other country, and continued to be the leading destination among developing countries for 23 years running.
In the first eight months of this year, the actual amount of foreign investment used by China totaled 85.3 billion dollars, up nine percent from the corresponding period of the previous year.
"We welcome all foreign companies in China and will respect and protect their lawful rights and interests provided that they abide by the laws and regulations of China and do nothing to undermine China's national interests and interests of Chinese consumers," said Xi.
Witty noted that businesses in China should be committed to long-term objectives. "You can't be in China on Monday, and not in China on Wednesday and back on Friday. You have to be in China," he said.
On September 23, GSK announced its plan to fund programs under China's National Health and Family Planning Commission to train about 13,000 physicians in the prevention and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic hepatitis B over the next five years.
"We have been in here for a hundred years, we have ups and downs, but we continue to expand our offer, we continue to make clear that we will do more here," said Witty.
