Shanghai, November 8, 2023 — Mr. Sheng Qiuping, Deputy Minister of the China Ministry of Commerce, held a productive roundtable with foreign-funded enterprises in Shanghai on November 3, ahead of the opening of the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) on November 5. The meeting was held as an opportunity for the Deputy Minister to hear comments and opinions from foreign-funded enterprises in China. Representatives of 31 foreign-funded enterprises attended the meeting.
A Cushman & Wakefield management delegation led by Matthew Bouw, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific; together with KK Chiu, Chief Executive, Greater China; and Jonathan Wei, President, Project & Occupier Services, China, joined the roundtable, discussing the commercial real estate landscape in China and Cushman & Wakefield’s strategic priorities going forward.
Mr. Sheng stated that China maintains its adherence to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world, lifting restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing industry, continuing to expand market access in modern service industries, and continuously promoting the opening up of the service trade field to the outside world. China prioritizes the recovery and expansion of consumption. The huge potential of the consumer market will bring new development opportunities to foreign enterprises. Mr. Sheng said that China welcomes enterprises from all over the world to invest and to achieve mutual benefits and common prosperity through open cooperation.
Representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the China National Intellectual Property Administration and other departments, as well as relevant representatives of Zhejiang Province and Guangdong Province attended the roundtable and joined the discussion.
Matthew Bouw, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific, Cushman & Wakefield (second from right) said: “I am delighted to be back in China and in the dynamic city of Shanghai as we mark the 30th anniversary of our firm’s Greater China operations. Despite the challenging global economic backdrop, there remain considerable opportunities for foreign businesses within China, as evidenced by the 390,000 visitors and almost 300 of the top 500 Fortune companies in attendance at this year’s CIIE event. With that in mind, we look forward to continuing to work closely with the China Ministry of Commerce to bring global and regional clients and investment to the country.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s business in China began in 1993. Over these years, the commercial real estate market in mainland China has undergone tremendous transformation. Cushman & Wakefield has kept pace with this change and led from the front, evolving to meet the challenges and opportunities of this extremely dynamic market with a broad range of service offerings and capabilities across 23 markets in Greater China.
Matthew Bouw added: “We’re tremendously proud to be here in Shanghai at CIIE again this year. China is one of the most important markets both within the region and globally for our business. Looking ahead, we will continue to leverage the strength of our Cushman & Wakefield platform locally, regionally and globally to continue to drive exceptional value for our clients in China.”