Beijing's global business opportunities promoted
The Invest in Beijing Conference, a pivotal event of the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference, highlighted the city's strengths in technological innovation, its world-class business environment and global investment opportunities.
The event, held on Friday, aimed to facilitate exchanges between government entities and enterprises, enhance investor confidence, attract high-end industrial projects and foster new quality productive forces.
Under the theme "Invest in Beijing, Win the Future", the event drew more than 600 participants, including representatives from Fortune Global 500 companies, State-owned enterprises, unicorn companies, investment institutes and international chambers of commerce.
Xia Linmao, executive vice-mayor of Beijing, emphasized in his address that as China's capital, the city embodies both world-renowned ancient heritage and a dynamic, modern international metropolis.
In 2024, the city's GDP surged to 4.98 trillion yuan ($685.5 billion), with a 5.2 percent year-on-year growth rate, and its per capita GDP stood at $32,000, ranking highest nationwide.
Xia underscored Beijing's commitment to spearheading technological innovation, promoting high-level openness and becoming a global investment hub. The city will continue to enhance its business environment to establish a benchmark for world-class services.
"We are eager to collaborate with all parties to bolster economic and trade ties, promote innovation partnerships, deepen industrial cooperation and foster open collaboration, seizing the historical opportunities for Beijing's high-quality development," Xia said.
The conference saw the revealing of 215 investment cooperation projects, totaling more than 95 billion yuan. They focus on three 1-trillion-yuan industry clusters of new-generation information technology, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, and technological services, alongside seven 100-billion-yuan industry clusters including artificial intelligence and intelligent equipment.
Agreements on 30 key industrial projects were signed on-site, attracting investments of 61.54 billion yuan. These span sectors such as biomedicine, finance, green energy, energy conservation and environmental protection.
The event also witnessed the launch of a batch of innovative application scenarios. These included the multicenter clinical use of the world's first handheld orthopedic surgery robots, a new model for database development and management based on large AI models, and underwater structure inspections.
Beijing aspires to grow into a global science hub and innovation center, aligning with the national innovation-driven development strategy. The city's main platforms supporting high-quality industries encompass Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, Future Science City and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town.
Leveraging the construction of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Beijing has aligned with high-standard international economic and trade regulations, and steadily expanded institutional openness. It has implemented more than 140 breakthrough policies to attract and promote landmark projects.
To better support enterprises, Beijing has rolled out measures ensuring their sustained growth. For example, it released and upgraded the Chinese and English versions of an industry map in 2024, providing clear guidance for global enterprise development in the city.
During the conference, Shirley Zhao, president of Astellas China, highlighted the remarkable strides made by their regional headquarters in Beijing, which was founded in 2021. Over the past three years, their operations have experienced substantial growth, solidifying a larger global presence.
"We have felt the unwavering support extended by the Beijing and Chaoyang district governments toward foreign enterprises. The business policies and environment here are exceptional," Zhao said.
For instance, the State Council introduced a policy earlier this year to deepen approval reforms for drugs and medical devices. Beijing supported this by accelerating the market launch of new products and streamlining distribution channels. The move has enabled Astellas' products to benefit Chinese patients faster, she noted.
Zhang Rong, vice-president of Beijing-based software developer Moonshot AI, said the city's appeal mainly lies in its innovation ecosystem and abundant talent resources.
haonan@chinadaily.com.cn
