US agribusiness giant Cargill on Wednesday announced the opening of the Asia Pacific headquarters of its agricultural supply chain in Shanghai, further demonstrating the company's continued commitment to China's market.
"We are grateful for the strong support from the Shanghai municipal government with this strategic location," said Robert Aspell, president of Asia Pacific for Cargill. He added that Shanghai would play a crucial role in the company's efforts to better serve customers in both China and other parts of the Asia Pacific region.
"We will unswervingly welcome international enterprises and investors to invest and run business in Shanghai. We will create a world-class business environment and expand development space for all enterprises," said Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, during a video call with Cargill.
Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, foreign investors have increased their investment in Shanghai in a bid to cash in on the business opportunities in China. The city received $10.28 billion in foreign investment in the first half of 2020, up 5.4 percent year-on-year.
While foreign businesses beef up presence in the Chinese market, domestic firms have accelerated business resumption as the epidemic waned.
Tianjin Golden Wheel Bicycle Group Co Ltd saw its exports in the first half of 2020 recover to the level in the same period last year.
"China continues to create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment, offering more opportunities to the world, thus helping stabilize the unsettled global economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a key factor for global companies to find the Chinese market attractive," said Quan Heng, secretary of the leading Party members' group at Shanghai Federation of Social Science Associations.
Source: China Daily
