From factory floor to innovation hub: how foreign firms deepen China presence
从工厂车间到创新中心：外国公司如何深化在华业务
This photo taken on Dec. 15, 2025 shows an exterior view of GE HealthCare Magnetic Resonance Eastern Hemisphere Headquarters R&D Center in Tianjin Municipality, north China. (Photo by Hu Zhenze/Xinhua)
这张 2025 年 12 月 15 日拍摄的照片，展示 GE 医疗磁共振业务东半球总部及研发中心的外景，该中心坐落于天津。（胡振泽摄/新华社）
TIANJIN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- At a medical device plant in the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone, technicians in sterile suits assemble fully automated blood coagulation analyzers. Components sourced from Europe and China are assembled and tested before being delivered to hospitals and laboratories across the country.
天津7月25日电，在天津港保税区一家医疗器械厂，身着无菌服的技术人员正在组装全自动血凝分析仪。这些采购自欧洲和国内的零部件，在厂区完成组装与测试后，发往全国各家医院和实验室。
The facility is French healthcare company Stago's first and only production site outside Europe. But after more than 20 years in China, Stago has moved beyond trading and manufacturing.
该基地是法国医疗企业思塔高在欧洲以外首个、也是唯一的生产基地。不过，进入中国市场二十余年，思塔高的业务已不再局限于贸易与生产环节。
It now conducts research and development (R&D) in the northern Chinese city, a shift that has transformed the way the company operates, said Sun Xiangchao, the company's China supply chain and production director.
该公司中国供应链和生产总监孙祥超表示，该公司现在在中国北方城市进行研发（R&D），这一转变改变了公司的运营方式。
"We are no longer just shipping products to China or relocating production lines here," Sun said. "We are embedding R&D capabilities into the country." That, he added, has shortened the "reflex arc" between the French headquarters and its Chinese operations, drastically speeding up decision-making and innovation.
“我们不再只是向中国出口产品，或是把生产线转移到这里，” 孙祥超说，“我们正在中国本土布局研发能力。” 他补充道，这缩短了法国总部与中国运营板块之间的 “响应链路”，大幅提升决策效率，加快创新节奏。
The evolution reflects a broader trend. China is no longer seen simply as the world's factory floor, but increasingly as a global platform for innovation, a place where foreign companies not only manufacture, but also develop new products and technologies, sometimes in partnership with Chinese companies.
这种演变反映了一个更广泛的趋势。中国不再被简单地视为世界工厂车间，而是越来越多地被视为一个全球创新平台，一个外国公司不仅制造，而且开发新产品和新技术的地方，有时还与中国公司合作。
China remains a popular destination for foreign investment. In the first five months of this year, nearly 4,000 foreign-invested firms increased their investment in China, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
中国仍然是外国投资的热门目的地。根据商务部的数据，今年前五个月，近4000家外商投资企业增加了在中国的投资。
Foreign-funded R&D centers have become a key part of China's innovation system, with many multinational companies upgrading their operations in the country from manufacturing bases to innovation hubs, He Yadong, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said in April.
商务部新闻发言人何亚东 4 月表示，外资研发中心已成为中国创新体系的重要组成部分，不少跨国公司正把在华布局从制造基地升级为创新枢纽。
Foreign R&D centers in China are shifting from meeting local adaptation needs to serving as pivots for global innovation, He added.
他补充称，外资研发中心正从满足本土化适配需求，转变为全球创新枢纽。
In June, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk announced an additional 200 million yuan (about 29.4 million U.S. dollars) investment in its Tianjin production base to expand its pen-injector assembly capacity. The decision came during a visit by its president and CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar.
6 月，丹麦制药巨头诺和诺德宣布，向其天津生产基地追加投资 2 亿元人民币（约合2940万美元），扩大注射笔组装产能。这一投资决定，是该公司总裁兼首席执行官 Maziar Mike Doustdar访华期间敲定的。
"One cannot ignore China and the innovation that is happening," Doustdar said. "We need to continue to take China much more into the integration of our corporate strategy, and try to duplicate some of the good things that are happening here for other markets."
杜斯塔尔表示：“不能忽视中国以及中国蓬勃发展的创新。我们要持续把中国市场更深地纳入企业整体战略布局，并尝试将这里的部分成功做法复制推广到其他市场。”
China's policy direction backs the expansion. The country's 15th Five-Year Plan underscores advancing the Healthy China Initiative and places biomedicine among its strategic emerging industries.
中国政策导向为上述拓展布局提供支撑。国家 “十五五” 规划强调推进健康中国行动，并将生物医药纳入战略性新兴产业。
For multinationals, the calculus is changing. As China spearheads industrial innovation through sci-tech innovation, a growing number of multinational corporations are locating their R&D and high-end manufacturing operations in China, boosting their global competitiveness.
跨国公司的决策考量正在发生转变。中国以科技创新引领产业创新，越来越多跨国企业将研发与高端制造布局落在中国，借此增强自身全球竞争力。
GE HealthCare opened the Magnetic Resonance (MR) Eastern Hemisphere Headquarters R&D Center in Tianjin late last year, its only system-level MR imaging research base outside the United States.
GE 医疗于去年底在天津设立磁共振（MR）东半球总部研发中心，这是该公司在美国本土以外唯一的系统级磁共振成像研究基地。
Kelly Londy, president and CEO of MR at GE HealthCare, described the facility as "a critical upgrade" to the company's global innovation network. "China is not only one of the world's most dynamic healthcare markets, but is also emerging as a key engine driving cutting-edge industry innovation," Londy said.
GE 医疗磁共振业务总裁兼首席执行官凯利・朗迪（Kelly Londy）称，该中心是公司全球创新网络的 “重要升级”。他表示：“中国不仅是全球最具活力的医疗健康市场之一，更正在成为拉动前沿产业创新的核心引擎。”
A recent survey by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, conducted with Roland Berger, found that business confidence among European firms in China is recovering. China's dynamic R&D ecosystem, vast talent pool and rapid product commercialization capabilities are attracting more European enterprises to scale up their R&D activities in the country, according to the survey.
中国欧盟商会近期联合罗兰贝格开展的一项调查显示，欧洲在华企业的经营信心正在回升。调查指出，中国富有活力的研发生态、充足的人才储备以及产品快速商业化能力，正吸引更多欧洲企业加大在华研发布局。
Jens Eskelund, the chamber's president, said many European firms want to tap into China's innovation ecosystem, but must also contend with fierce competition here. "You need to be really good to succeed on the Chinese market."
该商会主席延斯・埃斯克伦德表示，不少欧洲企业希望借力中国的创新生态，但同时也要面对中国市场的激烈竞争。“想要在中国市场取得成功，企业必须具备过硬实力。”
