By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
U.S. carmaker Tesla’s new Megafactory in Shanghai, a sprawling 200,000-square-meter facility, launched production this February, marking a significant milestone in China-U.S. investment cooperation.
Built in just over eight months, the factory is set to produce 10,000 energy storage battery units annually, adding roughly 40 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity. The project, expected to boost Tesla’s global energy storage output by over 50 percent from last year, highlights what some see as a model of the synergistic “Shanghai speed”meeting “Tesla speed.”
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1979, two-way investment between China and the U.S. has grown exponentially – from near zero to $260 billion, while bilateral trade has ballooned from under $2.5 billion to over $680 billion. More than 70,000 U.S. companies have invested and operated in China, with exports to the Chinese market supporting 930,000 American jobs. At the same time, more than 7,000 Chinese enterprises have invested over $140 billion in the U.S., creating over 1 million American jobs.
A notable testament to this interdependency is China’s Fuyao Group. In 2014, the company inaugurated the world’s largest automotive glass production facility in Ohio. The facility has since become an essential part of the U.S. auto supply chain – a crucial engine for local employment and economic growth.
China offers vast investment and development opportunities for global businesses, including American firms. Despite rising concerns overunilateralism, protectionism, and geopolitical tensions, many U.S.businesses continue to view China as a vital market and key node in global innovation and supply chains.
A report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) released in January revealed that 48 percent of surveyed U.S. firms ranked China among their top three global investment destinations, and 53 percent planned to increase their investment in the country this year.
Alvin Liu, chair of AmCam China, underscored the enduring importance of China as both a crucial consumer market for American companies and a critical contributor to global innovation and supply chains.This sentiment is echoed by many U.S. businesses, who maintain that disengagement from China is not a viable commercial strategy. They argue that the country offers an unparalleled industrial ecosystem, an improving business environment, stable foreign investment policies, and a highly skilled workforce.
Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, noted that China has grown into the world’s second-largest consumer market, offeringsignificant opportunities for global companies.
Even efforts to shift production away from China have often proven impractical. When Apple sought to manufacture high-end computers in the U.S., it quickly encountered inefficiencies in domestic production compared with its longstanding Chinese partnerships. Apple CEO Tim Cook openly acknowledged that Apple’s global success is inextricably linked to its Chinese suppliers.
For both countries, the economic logic of continued investment cooperation remains compelling: while competition is inevitable, economic complementarity is the dominant force at play. By leveraging theirrespective strengths, the two countries stand to create growth opportunities that neither could achieve alone – a dynamic often summarized as “1+1>2.”
With China’s economy continuing to recover and global investors reaffirming their confidence, many view investment in China as an investment in the future. At the same time, Chinese investment in the U.S. has helped drive innovation, job creation and industrial growth.
Politicizing investment and imposing arbitrary restrictions would not bolster American competitiveness – still less curb China’s development – but would instead erode the mutual benefits that businesses and people in both countries have long enjoyed.
As China moves forward with reform and modernization, and as the U.S. seeks to revitalize its economy, opportunities for collaboration remain abundant. By prioritizing mutual benefit over political rivalry, the two nations can foster a more stable and prosperous investment environment – one that sustains long-term growth for both their economies and their people.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
