Multinationals tap opportunities in China with Microsoft Research Asia

This unregistered file photo shows the booth of Burberry at the China International Consumer Products Expo in Haikou, Hainan province. ZHANG WEI CHINA DAILY CHENGDU Representatives of multinationals attending a forum in China expressed a willingness to expand cooperation with their Chinese partners in science and technology in order to tap the huge opportunities offered by the country's modernization drive.

Participants from over 20 countries and regions gathered online and offline to discuss science and technology development in basic sciences, climate change, digital economy, and green innovation at the 4th World Science and Technology Development Forum which concluded Monday in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.

The launch of Microsoft Research Asia MSR Asia in China was a confirmation of the company's strong cooperation with China, according to Guan Zhen, chief technical advisor of Microsoft China.

MSR Asia, based in Beijing and Shanghai, is Microsoft's largest research institute outside the United States. Experts and scholars from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to develop revolutionary technologies at MSR Asia, said Guan.

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Xi'an Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd, under Johnson Johnson, is a pharmaceutical company that entered China in the 1980s and developed new drugs for various diseases including hepatitis, lung cancer and hematologic malignancies through cooperation with China's domestic R&D resources.

"We have benefited a lot from entering China," said Liu Jun, an executive with Xi'an Janssen.

Cushman Wakefield, a commercial real estate services firm, has provided consulting services for many multinationals in China.

Wei Chaoying, an executive at Cushman Wakefield's office in China, said the company has shifted from helping multinationals locate sites to proactively explore development paths in China.

Wei said our innovation aims to create a good environment for enterprises, the market and government in China.

For nearly 40 years, Rockwell Automation, a leading global industrial automation company, has been active in China.

In the past decades, Chen Ye, the vice president of Rockwell Automation China Co, LTD, has witnessed the upgrading of China's manufacturing industry - with it becoming increasingly intelligent and automated.

In order to meet the demands of the high-end customers in China, Rockwell has cooperated with Chinese research institutions to achieve a win-win situation for customers, research institutions and multinationals, said Chen, who said Rockwell is the only way to promote innovation in China.

China will not change its determination to open up at a higher level, and has welcomed multinationals to share in the benefits of China's development.

READ MORE: Multinationals are full of confidence in China's economy.

Foreign investment is significant to China's manufacturing upgrades and integration into global industrial and supply chains, the ministry's spokeswoman, Shu Jueting, told a regular media conference.

The ministry recently published policy documents that contain 15 specific measures to encourage foreign manufacturing investment, including post-establishment national treatment and access to better financial services and financing support.