Beijing looks to Comcast to aid China’s post-Covid economic recovery, while Shanghai officials meet Estée Lauder
- Yin Li, secretary of the Beijing municipal party committee, held a virtual meeting with Comcast Corporation CEO Brian Roberts on Thursday
- Major provinces including Hainan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong, have dispatched business delegations overseas to drum up Investment
China’s regional economic powerhouses such as Beijing and Shanghai are ramping up efforts to attract foreign investment by meeting with multinational companies to drive up consumption for post-Covid economic recovery.
“[Beijing] will unswervingly promote a higher level of opening up to the outside world and make greater efforts to attract and utilise foreign investment, which will provide more opportunities and broader space for foreign enterprises to develop in Beijing,” Yin Li, the newly appointed secretary of the Beijing municipal party committee, said in a virtual meeting with Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation on Thursday.
Yin said the capital city is willing to deepen cooperation with Comcast Corporation to improve the operation of Beijing Universal Resort, and accelerate China’s “huge domestic tourism consumption potential”, according to the Beijing Daily.
He added that Beijing will make plans for more project development and construction with Comcast, including integration of Chinese elements, while focusing on 5G, artificial intelligence and other technology applications.
03:04
Universal Studios in Beijing packed with tourists as theme park starts trial run
Universal Beijing, which has attractions including a replica of the castle from the Harry Potter films, as well as areas dedicated to the Transformers and Minions franchises, opened in September 2021 with an investment of 50 billion yuan (US$6.84 billion).
Yin said Comcast is a “witness and a beneficiary of Sino-US cooperation”. The municipal party secretary said he hoped Comcast would continue to play an active role in economic and trade cooperation between the countries.
In mid-December, Chen Jining, the newly appointed secretary of the Shanghai Municipal party committee, also held a video meeting with Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO of Estée Lauder Group, according to the Shanghai Observer.
Chen said Shanghai welcomes enterprises from all over the world to share development opportunities in the city.
China sees positive signs for tourism, but ‘painful and bumpy’ road ahead
Shanghai would continue to create a “market-oriented”, first-class international business environment that followed the rule of law, he said, adding authorities were committed to providing better services for the development of all kinds of Chinese and foreign enterprises.
The wave of regional leadership meetings with multinationals has highlighted China’s determination to revive trade and foreign investment after the nation’s zero-Covid policy hobbled business operations with routine lockdowns and regular mass-testing.
China’s actual use of foreign investment amounted to US$178.08 billion from January to November last year, an increase of 12.2 cent year on year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Foreign investors warned China that its allure as an investment destination has been compromised by zero-Covid controls. A number of foreign companies have begun exploring supply chain diversification to reduce overreliance on the world’s second largest economy.
05:22
Crowds and traffic jams return to Beijing as China learns to live with Covid-19
China announced it would drop centralised quarantine and most Covid-19 testing for inbound travellers from Sunday, making its biggest move yet towards reopening its borders.
China is forecast to miss its annual growth target of around 5.5 per cent in 2022. The central government has repeatedly pledged to address the concerns of foreign investors and open its economy further to retain foreign capital.
