China welcomes foreign companies to share opportunities: VP

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods in Beijing, capital of China, March 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met separately with ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods and AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot on Monday in Beijing.

When meeting with Woods, Han called on the two sides to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in San Francisco to promote the steady, healthy and mutually beneficial development of China-U.S. relations.

China is advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development and is confident of achieving this year's economic and social development goals, said Han, adding that China will further advance high-quality opening-up and support overseas companies, including ExxonMobil, to achieve better development in China.

When meeting with Soriot, Han commended the sound foundation and broad potential of economic and trade cooperation between China and Britain.

China is committed to further opening-up at a high level, and will continue to foster a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment, he said, adding that China welcomes foreign companies, including those from Britain, to invest in China to share the new opportunities brought by China's high-quality development and opening-up.

Noting that China is comprehensively promoting the construction of the Healthy China initiative, Han called on Astrazeneca to give full play to its advantages to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with China and achieve greater development in China.

Woods and Soriot spoke highly of China's economic and social development achievements and expressed their confidence in the opportunities provided by China's supersize market and the country's future development.

Both companies said they will stick to their long-term development strategy in China, continue to increase investment in China, deepen cooperation with China in the green, low-carbon, medical and health fields, and advance mutually beneficial cooperation between the United States and China, and between Britain and China, for more results.

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot in Beijing, capital of China, March 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)