Joint meeting at the „Spring Meeting“: global capital joins hands and looks to the East

Late March in Beijing. At the annual meeting of the China Development Forum 2026, representatives of nearly a hundred multinational companies gathered together to fulfill the „spring meeting“ with China. Inside the meeting room, new consumption, artificial intelligence, green and low-carbon topics... guests shared ideas and discussed cooperation together; outside the meeting room, executives from multinational companies made intensive visits to the Ministry of Commerce and other ministries to seize new opportunities at the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan.

This surge of interest in visiting China continues the trend of the world „turning its gaze East“ since late last year, and „turning to China“ has become a frequently used term in international media coverage of China. The reason behind this phenomenon, as stated by Chinese Premier Li Qiang (Li Qiang) in his keynote speech at the annual meeting of the China Development Forum 2026, is that China is committed to being the „cornerstone of security“ and a „port of stability“ for the world.

This certainty and stability stems from China's strategic determination to „follow a single plan to the end“.

These days, the 15th Five-Year Plan has been mentioned again and again. 18 parts, 62 chapters - this programme document, which will guide China's economic and social development over the next five years, sets out seven major goals, including „significant progress in qualitative development“. It is not only a „new map“ for China's development, but also a „new opportunity“ for global development.

This certainty and stability also stems from the enormous potential of China's extremely large market.

In today's world, where protectionism is constantly on the rise, the market has become a scarce resource, but at the same time it can be constantly created. As the world's second largest economy, China's market is not only large in size but also has ample potential. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's GDP per capita rose from $10,000 to over $13,000, consumption of goods moved in new and better directions, and consumption of services grew strongly. This year, the Chinese government has set „efforts to build a strong domestic market“ as its main work task. At the forum, the Chinese side pledged to import more high-quality foreign goods, jointly promote the optimized and balanced development of trade with all parties, and jointly enlarge the global economic and trade pie.

This certainty and stability also stems from China's „hard“ innovative power.

„Every time the world economy has come out of trouble and moved towards prosperity, it has not been through fighting for an existing market, but through openness and technological advances that have created a new market.“ This statement from the Chinese side at the forum impressed Volkswagen chairman Oliver Blum. He said that it was important for the automotive industry in particular to develop new industries through innovation, thereby promoting overall economic development.

This certainty and stability also comes from China's door, which is „opening more and more“.

In China, openness has never been a theoretical issue, but has always been about solving concrete problems and implementing individual decisions. At the forum, the Chinese side reaffirmed its commitments to continue to build a favorable business environment, to fully implement national treatment of foreign enterprises, and to allow companies from all countries coming to China to develop peacefully and implement big plans.

CMG