Recently, President Xi Jinping replied to Howard Schultz, honorary chairman of the board of directors of Starbucks, encouraging him and Starbucks to continue to play an active role in promoting Sino-US economic and trade cooperation and the development of bilateral relations. This clearly expresses China’s attitude of expanding its opening up to the outside world and welcoming multinational companies to invest and start businesses in China. It also shows that multinational companies can play an important role in promoting global economic and trade cooperation and the development of international relations.
The essence of Sino-US economic cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win. In recent years, some people in the United States have often set up obstacles to Sino-US economic and trade cooperation, or even politicize it. This is not in line with the economic law, and will only make enterprises miss the opportunity to develop. It not only seriously harm the interests of the people of China and the United States, but also brings great harm to the world. It is destined to be unpopular and doomed to failure.
In fact, as China embarks on a new journey to build a modern socialist country in an all-round way, enterprises around the world, including Starbucks and other American enterprises, will usher in a wider space for the development of China.
China has the advantages of ultra-large-scale market, complete industrial supporting capabilities, sufficient talent resources and good infrastructure. In recent years, it has continuously expanded its opening up to the outside world and optimized the business environment. It has become one of the most popular foreign investment destinations in the world. Because of this, under the severe situation of the huge impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the global economy, many multinational companies are still actively laying out the Chinese market and increasing investment in China.
Starbucks’ development experience in China is quite representative. In November 2020, Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Industrial Park, with an investment of 156 million US dollars, officially began in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. At the 2020 Starbucks Global Investor Exchange Conference, Starbucks said that it continues to be optimistic about the performance of the Chinese market and plans to open 600 new stores in China in fiscal year 2021 and settle in 230 cities in China before the end of fiscal year 2022.
For many years, China has been welcoming multinational companies to invest in China. In the historical process of more than 40 years of China’s reform and opening up, multinational companies have played an active role as important participants, witnesses and beneficiaries. Important contributions have been made in taxation, employment, technological progress, management learning, structural upgrading, market expansion, etc., and promoted China’s economic and social development, transformation and upgrading.
Transnational corporations are also an important driving force for the development of global economic and trade cooperation and international relations. Through the internationalization of production, technology, services and capital, resources are allocated globally, national boundaries are broken, and the economies of the world are more closely linked. In addition, through deep participation in the social development of all countries in the world, transnational corporations are increasingly becoming an important carrier for the international community to deepen understanding and strengthen exchanges.
In the past few decades, under the joint promotion of Sino-US enterprises, Sino-US relations have accompanied China’s reform and opening up and the process of globalization. The two countries have become a community of interests deeply connected by the industrial chain, supply chain and value chain. In the post-epidemic era, the world is facing many challenges, and it is even more necessary for China and the United States to expand common interests through cooperation and find a way for great countries to get along with each other that benefits both countries and the world. China believes and is pleased to see enterprises from all over the world, including Chinese and American enterprises, play an active role in this regard.
It should be emphasized that multinational companies should always abide by Chinese laws and respect China’s national interests when investing and developing in China. Only by seeking common development in mutual respect can it be a long-term way to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and truly promote the healthy development of global economic and trade cooperation and international relations.
( Economic Daily – China Economic Network Yuan Yong)
