Industry News

TIANJIN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A woman from Mongolia recently finished her first round of chemotherapy at Perennial General Hospital Tianjin, China's first wholly foreign-owned tertiary general hospital. Following the treatment, her tumor marker levels dropped significantly.

"Booking an appointment was easy. The medical team was professional and attentive, and they quickly provided a treatment plan," she said.

As of late January, the hospital had treated nearly 14,000 patients since opening in February 2025, including over 300 international patients from 24 countries and regions.

"We serve both local patients and foreigners living in China, and we also offer a new channel for international patients seeking medical care in China," said Liu Dan, president of the hospital.

Perennial General Hospital Tianjin is a beneficiary of a pilot program for expanding opening up in the healthcare sector, and China has pledged to open further.

China's 2026 government work report stated that the country will expand market access and open up more areas, particularly in the service sector. China will further expand opening-up trials for value-added telecom services, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other fields.

"China's opening-up policies in the healthcare sector send a positive signal to the international investment community," said Pua Seck Guan, executive chairman and CEO of Singapore's Perennial Holdings.

As China continues to broaden the scope and level of its opening up, the demand for international medical and health services is growing, creating vast market space for the hospital, Pua added.

Amid a sluggish economic recovery and rising uncertainties, China has reaffirmed its commitment to high-standard opening up through its latest five-year plan. Over the next five years, China will remain committed to opening up and mutually beneficial cooperation, steadily expand institutional opening up, and develop new institutions for a higher-standard open economy.

At Airbus' second A320 family final assembly line in Tianjin, the assembly of the first group of aircraft is progressing steadily. Meanwhile, Airbus has obtained a value-added telecommunications business license, enabling it to offer services such as aircraft health monitoring and predictive maintenance to Chinese operators.

"Airbus has full confidence in China's booming aviation market, its strong and resilient supply chain, and the country's high-quality business environment," said George Xu, executive vice president of Airbus and CEO of Airbus China.

"China's commitment to high-standard opening up provides a more stable and resilient environment for Airbus development," Xu added.

With a huge market and top-class investment environment, China continues to be a popular investment destination. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the country saw the establishment of 70,392 foreign-funded enterprises in 2025, up 19.1 percent year on year.

"In the past, foreign investors valued China's demographic dividend. Now they are pursuing innovation dividends and market certainty," said Zhang Shuibo, a professor at Tianjin University's College of Management and Economics.

Foreign companies are transforming their Chinese businesses from a manufacturing base into a multi-functional hub for markets, R&D, supply chain resilience, and global innovation collaboration, with their investment concentrating on services and high-tech sectors, Zhang added.

Gim Huay Neo, managing director of the World Economic Forum, expressed a similar view. Many international businesses are looking at setting up innovation hubs in China to be close to the market, she said.

Goglio (Tianjin) Packaging Co., Ltd., the only manufacturing base in Asia for its Italian parent company, is conducting research with several Chinese institutions. "Deepening smart manufacturing upgrades and raising the localization level of high-end equipment manufacturing are inevitable choices for the company to deepen its roots in the Chinese market," said Mirko Turrina, general manager of the company.

A survey released in January 2026 by the American Chamber of Commerce in China showed that nearly 60 percent of U.S.-funded firms plan to increase their investment in China. A survey by the German Chamber of Commerce in China released in December 2025 found that 93 percent of respondent companies will continue to deepen their presence in the Chinese market.

Foreign investment is now deeply integrating with China's innovation ecosystem and institutional environment, said Yan Bing, director of the Institute of International Economics at Nankai University. "China's appeal is shifting from a market dividend to an innovation dividend and an institutional opening-up dividend."

China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) sets out the country's commitment to further strengthening the systems and mechanisms for high-standard opening up, while accelerating the formation of a fairer and more dynamic market environment.

Ivan Monich, associate professor at the International Business School of Tianjin Foreign Studies University, said the true opportunity during the 15th Five-Year Plan period belongs to those global players who position themselves not merely as vendors, but as deeply integrated, value-adding partners in this qualitative economic transformation.

Minhee Chae, assistant professor at Nankai University's School of Economics, said China's supportive policy measures for foreign enterprises will improve market access and reduce uncertainty, thereby further strengthening and maximizing the long-term China opportunities for global investors.