Amidst an economic and consumption recovery in China, foreign enterprises are increasing their investment in Tianjin Municipality in northern China. Swiss food giant Nestle recently launched a new high-end wet canned pet food production line in the city, marking its fourth high-end wet pet food production line in the world and its first outside of Europe and the United States. Nestle’s CEO for Greater China, David Zhang, expressed confidence in investing and developing business in China, citing the country’s growing middle class and increasing spending power.
Nestle has increased its investment in Tianjin since 2020, bringing its total investment to over 1 billion yuan ($145.3 million USD) and expanding its pet food product portfolio in China. Meanwhile, SMC (Tianjin) Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan’s SMC Corporation, invested 1 billion yuan to build a new plant, which is expected to become SMC’s largest base in China.
Tianjin’s commercial sector is also benefiting from the recovering consumption. Florentia Village, a prominent shopping center that features over 300 international brands, has seen strong consumer traffic this year. Waitex Group, one of the main investors of the business district, plans to add over 30 projects with a total investment of over 10 billion yuan this year. Tianjin also aims to become an international consumption center city.
The booming foreign investment in Tianjin echoes multinationals’ positive outlook on China’s economy, which continues to attract foreign investment despite the global economic outlook. In the past five years, the total foreign direct investment (FDI) into Tianjin reached 25.4 billion U.S. dollars, and over 270 Fortune 500 companies have invested in Tianjin. Tianjin’s actual use of foreign investment increased by more than 10 percent in 2021 and 2022.
According to Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, as China continues to deepen its high-level opening-up and create a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment, there will be more opportunities for foreign companies, and the investment attractiveness will further enhance.