Johnson Controls sees room for more growth

China's efforts to attract more foreign investment, improve the business climate and the policies related to the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) offer huge growth opportunities for overseas enterprises in the country, according to a senior executive of Johnson Controls, a US-based smart building solution provider.

Visal Leng, president of Johnson Controls Asia-Pacific, said the company is excited about the 14th Five-Year Plan, as China is continuously taking steps to encourage foreign investment, attract capital and boost innovation.

"In China, we believe that we have a bigger play with more opportunities, especially in the domain of smart buildings, healthy buildings, new cities, and new infrastructure. We are thinking of deploying 5G, the internet of things and artificial intelligence," he said.

Johnson Controls recently opened an innovation center in Singapore, which is one of the first buildings in the island nation to be net zero in terms of carbon emissions. "We deployed our building solutions to help achieve net zero, and I think there are a lot of similar opportunities in China," Leng said.

According to the annual Government Work Report this year, China will make concrete efforts to achieve peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality－the realization of net zero carbon emissions－by 2060. China will draw up an action plan for the peak carbon emissions and improve its industrial structure and energy mix, the report said.

Johnson Controls' commitment is in line with China's goal. In January, the company unveiled its Environmental Sustainability Commitments, aimed at achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement and 20 years ahead of China's goal.

According to Leng, thanks to the Chinese government's efforts in containing the spread of COVID-19 and boosting work resumption, the company's business in China started to recover in July. During the first quarter of this year, Johnson Controls China is anticipating strong positive growth, he said.

"The Chinese government's policies helped us to navigate the crisis. I am confident that we will see a stronger recovery in the coming months," said Leng.

"The clarity in the investment policies, the establishment of the free trade zones, and the introduction of the Foreign Investment Law have given us a lot of confidence to continue and expand our investments in China. Currently, we have two world-class manufacturing plants in China. We will continue to add capability, especially in the digital field," he said.

In December, Johnson Controls signed a strategic partnership with JN Pioneer Area in Jinan, East China's Shandong province. By leveraging Johnson Controls' advantages in smart building, digitization and green technologies, the cooperation supports the digital transformation of Jinan, helping make the area a demonstration zone for the protection of the ecosystem in the Yellow River basin.

"China has been stepping up efforts to build a favorable business climate. The policies are clear, enabling us to focus on how to implement the government's guidelines as efficiently, and as fast as possible," Leng said.

On March 1, the Ministry of Commerce said in a notice that it was working on a blueprint to offer guidance on stabilizing foreign investment during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

"Specifically, the blueprint will lay emphasis on deepening opening-up, improving foreign investment management system, strengthening the construction of open platforms, better protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors and prioritizing the business environment," said Zong Changqing, director of foreign investment department under the ministry.

"China is at the center of the company's business strategy. We see a lot of additional opportunities with the framework that the government is putting together. We are bullish about the Chinese market and will continue to further dig into the market in the future," Leng said.