2024 Fortune Global 500 Summit kicks off: enterprises in challenges and coping strategies

The 2024 Fortune Global 500 Summit was held on September 26th. Nearly 400 managers from the Fortune Global 500 companies and industry-leading firms, along with academics and experts, gathered to discuss how to maintain resilience amidst challenges and lead corporations and society toward a more prosperous and sustainable future.

At the summit, business leaders from various sectors came together to focus on resilience and innovation, delving into topics such as smart business, sustainable development, energy, modern healthcare, supply chains, the low-altitude economy, and corporate globalization.

The changes faced by enterprises now are also opportunities. At the summit, chief economists mentioned the new round of stimulus policies recently introduced in China, including reducing the reserve requirement ratio and policy interest rates, lowering existing mortgage loan interest rates, and supporting the stable development of the stock and real estate markets. There is a noticeable warming of market sentiment, which is also where the opportunities lie for businesses.

Multinational companies seeking opportunities in China

In the Fortune Global 500 companies, multinational ones play a very important role in China's reform and opening up and economic development. Currently, multinational companies are also planning to update their China strategies, and continuously deepening localization strategies is a common choice for these multinational companies. By co-creating with local enterprises, especially industry-leading enterprises, multinational companies have found more opportunities in China.

Xiang Weiming, GE Aviation's Global Vice President and President of Greater China, stated that localization has been achieved in aspects of employees, production, procurement, and cooperative partners, with annual purchases of components from China alone reaching 500 million US dollars. Gu Yusong, Medtronic's Global Senior Vice President, Executive Committee member, and President of Greater China, believes that the layout of the entire value chain is a continuous strategy for many foreign-funded enterprises that are optimistic about the Chinese market in the long term. The full industrial chain layout in aspects such as research and development, production, training, and venture capital funds is not only a strategy to enhance their own competitiveness but also plays a good role in enhancing the capabilities of the industry.

Ian Shih, President of Rockwell Automation (China) Company Limited, attached importance to identifying problems from the demand side, social issues, and more, and aligning companies in the industrial chain to solve these problems. He told GDToday that in the layout of the company's business, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is a key area, as the area boasts a strong clustering effect and is favorable for the company to align upstream and downstream partners in problem-solving. He also shared that in recent years some companies were pulling their capacity back from abroad to settle down in the GBA.

As multinational enterprises are settling in China, Chinese enterprises are also repositioning themselves under a global vision, and accelerating the pace of going global has become a general trend. "For Chinese companies to 'go global,' first, they must respect local laws and regulations; second, they should abide by local cultural customs; third, they should create opportunities for local taxation and employment; and fourth, they should pay attention to environmental protection in order to maintain sustainable development," suggested Xiang Weiming.

Enterprise development in GBA in the eyes of participants  

As the Summit this year was held in Guangzhou, the booming southern economic hub and an important pillar of the GBA, GDToday talks with participants at home and abroad to learn about their insights on the future development of enterprises in the GBA and the GBA economy in general.

For one, the location and nature as a bay area are aiding GBA development. Gustavo Makanaky Córdoba, Acting Consul General, Consulate General of the Republic of Colombia in Guangzhou, considered that the GBA and Colombia have an innate advantage in cooperation as both are located on the Pacific coasts and are actually close to each other through ocean logistics.

Aaron Finley, Board Member, South China Chapter European Chamber, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, remarked that the GBA has a very supportive business environment for international companies, particularly European ones.

Nathanael Coulibaly from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Burkina Faso noted that in the Summit this time, he focused on finding more Chinese partners and investors to further cooperation.

As a representative from the local area, Peter Helis, Chief Advisor, Investment Promotion Bureau of Guangzhou Development District, introduced that Huangpu district, where he works, boasts over 200 cooperation projects with Fortune Global 500 companies. He particularly attached importance to the convenience of further reaching out to the RCEP market or the Southeast Asian market from here.

As Julia Chu, Chief Representative of Fortune Global 500 China, noted, Fortune Global 500 companies not only create societal wealth but also expand social welfare to facilitate social progress. Enterprises are not only a major driver of economic growth but also the cornerstone of societal development. With government support and international cooperation, enterprises in the GBA enjoy multiple advantages to better cope with external challenges and leverage competitive advantages to stand out on the international stage.