To catch foreign investors, China casts mega projects with great potential in uncertain times

Beijing again put on the charm this week to reassure businesspeople and lure overseas capital amid a trend of multinationals diversifying away from China

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s meeting with chairman of China’s top economic-planning authority highlights how American executives are courted amid disputes with Washington

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Beijing used the China Development Forum this week as an opportunity to mingle with high-level multinational executives. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:30pm, 29 Mar 2023Updated: 9:34am, 30 Mar 2023

China is thinking big – mega, even – as it pins hopes on multinationals helping bolster its standing in global supply chains against the backdrop of unwavering geopolitical tensions.

Mega-projects across the country need funding. And China is trumpeting them to overseas investors to shore up confidence and convince them to cash in.

The tactic was employed in the past week when officials vowed to widen market access for Western investors and create a more hospitable environment, at the China Development Forum in Beijing, where the officials had face-to-face meetings with foreign executives to charm and reassure.

Protecting China’s long-critical role in global supply chains was one of the key challenges facing its policymakers in the past three years plagued by the pandemic – a period in which many companies realised they were overly dependent on China, fuelling a trend toward diversification abroad.

And even with China’s coronavirus restrictions lifted since late last year, disorder and uncertainty have perhaps become even more prevalent with Washington stepping up its technological-containment efforts, especially in the semiconductor industry.

In his Tuesday meeting with Peter Wennink, president of ASML, a Dutch producer of advanced microchip-printing machines, Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao promised a good business environment and efficient services for multinationals.