Top executives weigh in at CIIE
A1: ABB has joined the CIIE for four consecutive years since its first session in 2018, sharing latest global leading digital and smart technologies to energize the transformation of society and industry for a more sustainable future.
Over the past three years, we have exhibited more than 130 innovative products and technologies, launched a series of new products and digital solutions, and signed more than 70 MoUs with local customers at CIIE. As CIIE is highly valuable, ABB has also signed up for next year's participation.
A2: CIIE showcases the Chinese government's firm support to trade liberalization, economic globalization and to actively opening its market to the world. It facilitates countries and regions all over the world to strengthen economic cooperation and trade, and to promote global trade and world economic growth.
China is ABB's second-largest market worldwide and we have a full range of business activities here. As the major global trade fair promoting globalization and openness, CIIE provides a great opportunity for us to drive innovation and development especially in such fields as digitalization, intelligence, industrial Internet and artificial intelligence. I believe this year's CIIE will continue playing a significant role in accelerating the recovery of the global economic growth and building an open world economy.
A3: China's contribution to the world economy recovery is huge. China posted stable economic growth for the first three quarters of this year, staying on track to meet its annual growth targets despite multiple headwinds. China's robust growth is itself a significant contribution to global economic stability.
China's economy remains a major stabilizer and driver of the global economy. In the first three quarters, the total volume of imports and exports of goods was up by 22.7 percent year-on-year. Specifically, the volume of imports was up by 22.6 percent. The strong imports as well as investment in the process of recovery are also very important contributions to economic recovery in other countries.
A4: Today, digitalization, labor shortage and low-carbon growth are among the megatrends that the whole world is facing. China's14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) has also drawn much attention to high-quality development, industrial digital transformation, carbon neutrality and sustainable development. The strategic guidelines not only depict the future of the industry market, but also drive the upgrade of China's consumer market for upcoming decades.
We need to grow our economy while protecting the environment, and to increase the utilization of renewable energy while reducing energy intensity through technology innovation. Electrification, automation and digital offering are perfect to serve these purposes. We are stepping up efforts to further align our core businesses with the new demands of the local market and join hands with our customers and partners for China's carbon neutrality pledge.
A5: At ABB, we are also very pleased to witness the continuous improvements of business environment and are grateful for the timely assistance from local government during the pandemic.
China is boosting high-quality development under the new development paradigm by accelerating economic transition, fostering greener growth and nurturing greater opening-up. CIIE is a typical example that shows China's drive to further open up to the world.
A6: China becomes the largest FDI recipient in 2020, with $163 billion of foreign direct investment, up 4 percent year-on-year.
We have been benefitting from constant improvements in business environment and higher-level of opening-up by achieving solid growth in past months and having our investment projects progressing smoothly as planned. For example, our new robotics factory in Shanghai, with a total investment of $150 million, will be put into operation in 2022.
A7: Technology innovation and sustainability are among the top areas that require cross-border cooperation among different cities, provinces and countries, as well as across government, academia and business. Higher-level opening-up in such fields will provide new impetus for China's commitment to high-quality growth, sustainable development as well as greater international acclaim.
