Aligning growth plans with China's needs

A1 We see huge opportunities in China in the energy, aviation and healthcare sectors, as the country transforms its economy in response to the mega trends of clean energy, affordable healthcare, urbanization, and Internet+, which is why China remains one of the most relevant markets for GE globally. We are increasing our investments in these areas to capture new growth opportunities.

In clean energy, we just announced last month that GE Renewable Energy will open a new factory at Jieyang's Offshore Wind Cluster in Guangdong and will establish a new Operation and Development Center in the city of Guangzhou. The new GE offshore wind factory in Jieyang will help meet growing Chinese demand for offshore wind energy and will serve domestic and regional markets in the Asia-Pacific region. In gas power, we are setting up a heavy duty gas turbine joint venture with Harbin Electric to manufacture and service F-class and H-class gas turbines in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province.

A3 At GE China, we build our business growth plans in alignment with China's five-year plans and China's "mega-needs" in the years to come. This includes a power market that is expected to grow at an annual rate of nearly 5 percent until 2020, all while moving toward clean energy and natural gas; a healthcare market that is expected to grow as the number of people above 65 years old will hit 170 million by 2020; and an air travel sector that is expected to make China the largest aviation market by passenger flow by 2035, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Furthermore, China has been encouraging international collaboration in the energy and infrastructure sectors - especially in developing nations in the Belt and Road regions - which leads to opportunities for GE to continue partnering with Chinese EPCs, as we have done for more than 20 years in over 70 countries.

A4 China is an important market for GE; we have valued customers and employees in both the United States and China. We look forward to both countries continuing bilateral negotiations in earnest, and we strongly support a negotiated outcome that addresses the issues raised and involves the lifting of tariffs. Currently, GE is well-positioned to mitigate the impact of these tariffs given our global footprint, supply chain, and flexibility in the marketplace. As an American company with a deep and lasting global footprint, GE will continue to advocate for open markets and fair competition.

In terms of promising sectors, China's "new development" concept - clean energy, affordable healthcare, urbanization, and Internet+-along with the Belt and Road Initiative, represent hugely promising opportunities for future development. Our strategies of localization, partnership, and digitization leave us well-positioned to take advantage of these opportunities in China.

A5 GE was honored to participate in the discussion surrounding the preparation and drafting of the new Foreign Investment Law. We believe that an integrated Foreign Investment Law is a significant improvement and a crucial step forward for China as it moves toward further openness in legislation.

In recent years, we have been pleased to see that the Chinese government has given consideration to the development needs of different market entities in China. By constantly deepening reform in free trade zones, establishing and improving the negative list, reforming and streamlining regulations on foreign investment, and adopting a service-provider level of awareness, the government has given strong support to foreign enterprises like GE to develop in China.

A6 With our unique combination of deep industrial domain expertise as well as software competencies, GE is leading the way in developing a new digital industrial future by connecting machines, software and data analytics to unlock industrial productivity. GE is already operating digital industrial programs and big data analytics applications for customers in China, covering key vertical sectors, including aviation, healthcare, and power. For instance, in healthcare, we have deployed cloud-based APM (asset performance management) programs in 2,500 hospitals in China to help them to holistically manage their medical equipment assets and increase their efficiency.

Meanwhile, the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry is creating huge growth opportunities for companies like GE. GE China's Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center in Tianjin, the first of its kind for GE outside the United States, brings together an ecosystem of advanced manufacturing technology providers to be a one-stop shop for developing, integrating and deploying tailored Brilliant Factory solutions and deliver productivity improvements to manufacturers in China.