The key signal of China's high-level opening up is being highlighted by the full abolition of restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector.

On October 18, President Xi Jinping announced in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Summit Forum for International Cooperation that China will completely abolish restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector. This is a step forward on top of the fact that the country's manufacturing sector has been basically opened up as well as the zeroing out of the manufacturing sector on the negative list of the Pilot Free Trade Zones (PFTZs).

According to the "Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2021 Edition)", the manufacturing sector has basically been completely opened up nationwide, with only "printing of publications shall be controlled by the Chinese side" and "prohibited investment in the steam, frying, roasting, calcination and other application of concocting technology of Chinese medicine tablets and the production of pCms" left. The two entries are "Publication printing must be controlled by Chinese parties" and "Investment in the application of Chinese medicinal tablets' steaming, frying, roasting, calcining and other preparation techniques and the production of proprietary Chinese medicines is prohibited.

According to the China Foreign Investment Statistics Bulletin 2023, China's annual actual use of foreign investment in 2022 was US$189.13 billion, an increase of 4.5 per cent, exceeding 1.2 trillion yuan for the first time in RMB terms, with high-tech industries becoming an important growth point. The EU and ASEAN's investment in China grew by 95.3 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively. In addition, the Ministry of Commerce released data showing that in the first half of 2023, China set up 24,000 new foreign-invested enterprises, up 35.7 per cent.

This year, many foreign investors have continued to expand and deepen their investment in China with practical actions. In the field of high-end manufacturing, industrial automation, Japan, France, Germany and many other international industrial giants have accelerated the pace of investment in China to set up factories, in order to meet the needs of the domestic market, not only the production line will be relocated to the country, but also to increase the investment in research and development centres and construction efforts. After incomplete sorting and analysis, the first three quarters of 2023, the international industrial control giants in China, important investment, plant dynamics to sum up, inventory.

Mitsubishi Electric Shenzhen Intelligent Manufacturing Science and Technology and FA Centre put into operation

On December 27, 2022, Mitsubishi Electric Shenzhen Intelligent Manufacturing Science and Technology Innovation Centre and Mitsubishi Electric Shenzhen FA Centre were officially put into operation. This is following the establishment of the Mitsubishi Electric Shanghai Intelligent Manufacturing Science and Technology Creation Centre, Mitsubishi Electric in the Chinese market and - strategic layout. It is reported that Mitsubishi Electric will rely on the two centres in Shenzhen, to create a Shenzhen as the centre, radiation in South China and even the country's automation, CNC and processing machine product technology innovation, experience and service centre.

Schneider Electric's fifth largest R&D centre in China opened in Wuxi

On March 29, Schneider Electric China Automation R&D Centre was officially opened in Wuxi, becoming the fifth largest R&D centre set up by Schneider Electric in China after Shanghai, Shenzhen, Xi'an and Beijing. The Wuxi R&D Centre will first focus on the development of next-generation core industrial automation products, establish an integrated hardware and software innovation system, and inject more businesses, including energy management automation, in the future. This will be a strategic move for Schneider Electric to continue to strengthen its "China Hub". The Wuxi Automation R&D Centre will be integrated with the Wuxi End-to-End Lighthouse Factory, which will serve as the best testing ground for the R&D Centre to industrialise the R&D results in a timely manner. At the same time, the R&D Centre will also work with the Shanghai R&D Centre to further strengthen Schneider Electric's industry chain and supply chain resilience in the automation field. At present, the R&D Centre is building the world's leading testing level laboratory, covering an area of 900 square meters, and officially put into use in June 2023, providing professional facilities, comprehensive capabilities and talent support for innovation.

Weidmüller's R&D and Manufacturing Headquarters for Intelligent Connectivity Signed in Suzhou

On 12th April, the R&D and manufacturing headquarters of Weidmüller Intelligent Connectivity was signed in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). With a total investment of US$150 million, the project is positioned as the company's strategic headquarters for the future, including advanced manufacturing, high-end R&D, functional services, headquarters management and other comprehensive and innovative functions. The project is expected to start construction this year, and will be planned and built according to the standard of a lighthouse factory, with a planned annual output value of nearly RMB 2 billion. This time, Weidmüller invested in the park to build the R&D and manufacturing headquarters for intelligent connectivity in China, which will focus on the Group's two business divisions, Electrical Cabinet Products and Industrial Automation Products and Solutions, and is committed to providing full-scenario intelligent solutions for the fields and industries of machinery and factory automation, energy, process control, transportation, device manufacturing, and infrastructure construction.

Nordic Yizheng factory officially put into production, with a planned annual output of 400,000 sets of gearboxes and 1 million sets of motors

On the morning of 18th April, German Nordic new factory in Yizheng, Jiangsu Province, held a production ceremony, the ceremony was held successfully marking the Nordic new factory - Nordic (Jiangsu) Transmission Equipment Co. It is reported that the construction of Nordic Yizheng factory started in October 2021, with a total production area of 18,000 square metres, and an annual production capacity of 400,000 sets of gearboxes and 1 million sets of motors. The plant is the fourth plant built by Nordex Group in China, aiming to continuously strengthen its strategic investment in the Chinese market. The commissioning of the Nordex Yizheng plant is an important milestone, which will complement the Nordex Suzhou and Tianjin plants to fully enhance Nordex's capacity supply and customer service in China.

With a total investment of more than RMB 10 billion, global motor giant Safeway Transmission has settled in Foshan.

On 6 May, Safeway Industrial Gearbox (Foshan) Co., Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Safeway (China) Investment Co., successfully bid for the land west of Lengui Road, Daliang Street, Shunde District (about 240 acres) with a total investment of RMB 215.9 million at 3:00 pm on the same day. The project is expected to roll cumulative total investment of more than 10 billion yuan, will create its largest manufacturing base in South China. Germany SEW South China manufacturing base project (hereinafter referred to as SEW project) total land area of about 392 acres, promoted in two phases, including a project site (about 240 acres) planning plot ratio of not less than 1.5, plans to be listed in the first quarter of 2023, 2026 was completed and put into operation. It is expected that the project rolling cumulative total investment will exceed 10 billion yuan, of which fixed asset investment (including land price) is not less than 500 million U.S. dollars or the equivalent in RMB, each phase of the project since the year of production, the average annual tax revenue of not less than 800,000 / mu.

Danfoss Announces Investment in Expansion of Zhejiang Haiyan Park

On 8th May, Danfoss, the world's leading provider of energy efficiency solutions, held a signing ceremony with the Haiyan County Government of Zhejiang Province, announcing that the two parties will cooperate to officially start the construction of the second Danfoss Haiyan Park. The second Danfoss Haiyan Park will be funded by the local government, and Danfoss will lease it and invest in its own equipment; at the same time, the government will provide Danfoss with corresponding support. This is an innovative model of co-operation between Danfoss and local governments in China. Danfoss Haiyan Park produces a wide range of products, including frequency converters, heat exchangers and hydrostatic equipment, and many of its technologies are world-leading: the VLT®Flow Drive FC 111 fluid-control frequency converter, which will be released in 2022, is developed and produced here; the world's leading Danfoss Tianmagnet® oil-free compressor plant was also formally introduced into Haiyan a few years ago, and this is the company's second global Danfoss This is the company's second Danfoss® oil-free compressor production line in the world.

Nedco (formerly Nidec), the World's Largest Motor Manufacturer, Opens South China Headquarters in Foshan

On May 18th, the opening ceremony of Nedco's South China headquarters and R&D centre was held in the Nanhai area of Sanlong Bay, Foshan. The project is located in Starlink ERE Science and Technology Park in Nanhai Area of Sanlong Bay, with an area of more than 6,000 m2. As a multinational listed enterprise in electrical and electronic industry and the world's largest electric motor manufacturer, Nidec's South China Headquarters and R&D Centre will focus on electric drive vehicles, as well as electric drive systems and motion control in the field of industrial automation, and will strive to become an influential enterprise in the industry. It is understood that Nedco is the world's first integrated motor manufacturer, Nedco Group in 2022 to achieve annual sales of about 103 billion yuan, is currently the world's most influential, competitive and driving force in the field of electric drive brand, the Nedco South China headquarters and R & D centre in Sanlong Bay Nanhai Area, will inject new momentum for the high-quality development of the area.

Siemens Yangtze River Delta Artificial Intelligence Co-Creation Lab Officially Launched in Suzhou

On 24th May, Siemens Yangtze River Delta Artificial Intelligence Co-Innovation Laboratory (YRD AI Co-Innovation Lab) was officially put into operation in Suzhou. As the first AI co-creation lab of Siemens in China, the lab focuses on Siemens' innovations and applications in artificial intelligence, big data, simulation and digital twin, and software development, etc. The lab presents technological innovation demonstration lines with the theme of "industrial meta-universe" in the results display area, bringing visitors a series of innovative solutions, including creation, industrial design, remote collaborative virtual debugging, and remote control. The lab will provide visitors with technical applications and on-site experiences in scenarios such as industrial design, remote collaborative virtual commissioning, IT and OT convergence for flexible production, predictive maintenance of equipment, and product lifecycle carbon emission analysis, etc. The lab is jointly constructed by Siemens (China) Ltd. and the Suzhou Science and Technology City Management Committee.