XIAMEN, Nov. 6 — As global investors recalibrate their strategies amid heightened uncertainties, China continues to stand out in a very positive way.
While political rhetoric calls for decoupling, companies are voting with their feet by investing in China, expanding local operations and, in some cases, bringing production back to the country.
In late October, French energy giant Schneider Electric put its Xiang’an industrial park in Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province, into operation. The facility is Schneider’s largest medium-voltage electrical equipment manufacturing base. On the same day, the company also broke ground on the park’s second phase, further expanding its manufacturing capacity.
Xiamen offers a well-developed industrial chain for power transmission and distribution, a pool of skilled engineering talent, and supportive platforms such as the Xiamen Torch Development Zone for High Technology Industries, which continues to improve its business environment for advanced manufacturing.
Schneider’s senior executives have made no secret of their confidence in the Chinese market. Having operated in China since 1987, the company considers China its second-largest global market, a key supply hub and one of its four core R&D bases. Its continued expansion reflects a straightforward business judgment — China’s market, industrial capabilities and innovation ecosystem remain too important to overlook.
Schneider Electric’s strategy is far from an isolated case. PC makers such as HP are shifting some production back from Southeast Asia to China. Dell is also reportedly considering similar moves.
For these companies, the drawbacks of shifting production out of China have become increasingly evident, including fragmented local supply chains, operational inefficiencies and higher logistics costs. Rising demand for AI computing power has also driven up component prices, adding to the appeal of China’s robust industrial ecosystem.
According to Zhu Jialiang, assistant professor in the School of Economics at Xiamen University, the reasons behind this switch are clear: China’s unparalleled industrial ecosystem, underpinned by stable policies, skilled labor, a dense network of component suppliers, mature logistics networks and accumulated manufacturing expertise.
As Time magazine has observed, China’s real advantage lies no longer in cheap labor or subsidies, but in the accumulated learning embedded in perhaps the densest industrial ecosystem the world has ever seen.
This interconnected system cannot be replicated overnight by simply building factories elsewhere. Meanwhile, China’s role in global production is evolving beyond labor-intensive manufacturing. Its emerging sectors, from artificial intelligence and intelligent new energy vehicles to robotics, are forging partnerships worldwide, which means a strengthening of global ties that runs counter to both the narrative and the push for decoupling.
During his visit last week to Volkswagen Group China Technology Company, Volkswagen’s largest R&D center outside Germany, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was glad to see German and Chinese engineers developing automotive software together, and expressed his hope for closer cooperation between businesses of the two countries.
In the first three quarters of 2026, China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in high-tech industries surged 33.8 percent year on year.
The message is equally clear from China’s major trade fairs, where international businesses continue to demonstrate strong interest in the Chinese market. The 140th Canton Fair, which concluded on Nov. 4 in Guangzhou, south China, attracted overseas buyers from 219 countries and regions. The ninth China International Import Expo, meanwhile, which opened in east China’s Shanghai on Nov. 5, has attracted overseas exhibitors from 162 countries, regions and international organizations. For the first time, more than 300 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders are participating in this expo.
Forced decoupling defies the logic of global division of labor and market rules, pushing costs higher and heightening supply chain vulnerabilities, Zhu said. Ultimately, market decisions are driven by efficiency and profitability. For global firms, China remains irreplaceable, he added.(Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
