Editor's Note: As China launches its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), policymakers are strengthening coordination between the "Export to China" and "Shopping in China" campaigns. The effort signals a clear commitment to expanding imports while promoting high-quality consumption. To explore what this means for global business, we invited executives from multinational corporations to share their perspectives on the opportunities in China's vast market, the role of their China operations in global strategy, and their outlook for the years ahead.

Q1 China's GDP grew 5 percent in 2025, reaching 140.19 trillion yuan ($20.31 trillion). For 2026, the government targets growth of between 4.5 percent and 5 percent, with a planned deficit ratio of around 4 percent. How do you assess the credibility and policies backing this target? Amid moderating global demand, what does China's relative growth certainty mean for your company's global capital allocation, earnings outlook and investor expectations? Does the combination of proactive fiscal policies and accommodative monetary measures reinforce your confidence in sustaining or expanding operations in China?

HOMMA: China achieved its 5 percent economic growth target in 2025 despite a complex and volatile external environment. It sends a clear, firm and positive signal to the world, highlighting the strong resilience and stability of the Chinese economy and further strengthening the confidence of foreign companies in pursuing long-term development in China. We are continuing to step up our investment with concrete actions. We see that the Chinese government is responding to challenges with a pragmatic approach. China's economic resilience has become even more evident amid global uncertainty. Its complete industrial system, highly skilled talent pool and continuously improving business environment all remain highly attractive.

XIA: In an environment where global uncertainties continue to build, China's consistent growth trajectory provides an important anchor for multinational companies like Evonik. It strengthens our confidence to further invest, innovate, and deepen our presence in the country, which already plays a critical role in our global business. China remains the world's largest producer in the chemicals sector, and its scale and resilience create a strong foundation for long-term growth. As part of our global strategy, Evonik aims to increase the share of its footprint, sales, assets and people in China. Specifically, we want to raise China's share of global revenue from about 10 percent now to 15 percent by 2032, supported by expanding innovation capabilities and multiple production facilities.

ZHOU: China has always been one of dsm-firmenich's most strategic markets, and its growth certainty provides a more predictable environment and long-term strategic confidence for us. We also clearly see the Chinese government's continued efforts to optimize the consumer market and foster deeper integration between technological and industrial innovation. These measures further strengthen our confidence as a multinational company committed to long-term development in China. Looking ahead, we will continue bringing global technologies and solutions to China, while leveraging local innovation to contribute back to global markets, and collaborating with partners to drive high-quality development.

HUANG: China is Dow's largest market outside the US and a key region for driving global business growth and achieving sustainable development goals. In an increasingly uncertain global environment, China's relative policy clarity and continued industrial upgrading provide an important source of stability and confidence for multinational companies. Dow prioritizes markets with clear policy direction, strong fundamentals and sustained momentum in industrial transformation. In China, we have made providing materials science solutions for advanced intelligent manufacturing and a low-carbon circular economy our strategic focus. We aim to translate innovation into scalable, practical solutions that support high-quality development and deliver transformative growth in both innovation and sustainability.