TIANJIN, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- From April to September, it took just over five months for European aircraft manufacturer Airbus to break ground on its second final assembly line in north China's Tianjin Municipality after signing the agreement.

 

This is a powerful vote of confidence in the future of aviation here in China, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said, adding that it also underlines Airbus' long, trustful, and successful relationship with partners in China.

 

The comprehensive advantages of the Chinese market, featuring its large scale, complete industrial system, a favorable environment for scientific and technological innovation, and continued opening-up, have attracted more and more foreign investments.

 

In May, refrigeration industry giant Danfoss inaugurated its global refrigeration research and development (R&D) and testing center in Tianjin. With a total construction area of about 7,000 square meters and a total investment of about 140 million yuan (about 19 million U.S. dollars), the center is the company's most advanced and largest one worldwide.

 

Arthur Xu, president of Danfoss China, said it is significant for the group to move from "producing" in China to "creating" in China, which reflects the company's confidence in China's green development and the long-term prospects of the Chinese economy.

 

In recent years, it has become a trend for foreign companies to choose China as their R&D centers to cater to the vast Chinese market demands and serve a larger global market.

 

In June, Honeywell, a U.S. industrial conglomerate, unveiled its Sustainability and Digitalization Innovation Center in Tianjin, another strategic layout of the company in China.

 

Henry Liu, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies Asia-Pacific, said Honeywell has set up a number of R&D centers and innovation institutions in China in 2023 alone and has worked with many Chinese partners to promote more innovative technologies and mature solutions.

 

Liu said Honeywell is optimistic about the opportunities brought by China's "dual carbon" target. "We will work with Chinese partners to shape a sustainable future by developing products and technologies that meet our customers' energy-saving and environmental protection needs."

 

British-headquartered global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca's Qingdao regional headquarters was inaugurated in east China's Shandong Province recently. According to the MOU signed in August, AstraZeneca will further invest 250 million U.S. dollars in its Qingdao pMDI inhalation manufacturing and supply site.

 

At the end of this year, SMC (Tianjin) Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan's pneumatic component manufacturer SMC Corporation, will start the second phase of its expansion project.

 

After the new plant is put into operation, the annual output value of the Tianjin company is expected to reach 1.5 billion yuan, which will make it SMC's largest base in China, said Ma Qinghai, general manager of the company.

 

As the Chinese economy recovers and the foreign investment environment further improves, increasing high-value-added industries around the world will cluster in China, said Bai Ming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.