MNCs plug into China recovery theme

Special: Two Sessions 2023

As nation sharpens focus on growth, foreign firms ramp up investments, expand operations

As China's ongoing two sessions — the annual sittings of the nation's top legislature and top political advisory body — reaffirm the economic policy's thrust on steady growth, multinational corporations operating in China said they are optimistic about their long-term business prospects. The world's second-largest economy, their top executives said, appears to be on track for a steady post-COVID-19 economic recovery this year.

MNCs such as U.S. materials science company Corning Inc, in fact, are so sanguine that they are ramping up their local investments, expanding their business lines and chalking up medium- to long-term plans for steady growth.

Corning, for instance, is planning to continuously expand its capacity across its various business lines in the country, in order to support growing local demand.

The U.S. multinational specializes in specialty glass, ceramics, related materials and technologies like advanced optics. Its vice-president, Jeffery Liu, said China has always been a strategic market for Corning, which sees huge growth potential in the Chinese market, given the large population of middle-income groups who reside mostly in urban areas.

"I take a rosy view of China's high-quality and innovation-driven development in the next few years," Liu said. "Looking ahead, our company will execute its announced capital projects and expand employment as it ramps up production and invests in new businesses in the China market."

Liu said the China business now accounts for around one-third of Corning's global sales revenue, making the country the largest overseas market for the firm outside the United States.

In the last four decades, Corning has invested over $9 billion in 23 manufacturing and research facilities in China that boast over 6,000 employees now.

It has been continuously investing in Chongqing, first on a post-processing plant, then on a logistics center, and now on a melting furnace, as well as other facilities for new materials.