Focus on industry, sci-tech enthuses MNCs

Employees work on the assembly line of a carmaker in Qingdao, Shandong province. Their observations and resolve emerged after last week's Central Economic Work Conference set the tone for economic work next year, urging efforts to promote industrial innovation through sci-tech innovation. Chen Xudong, chairman of IBM Greater China, said, "As China continues to accelerate industrial upgrading and promote high-standard opening-up, I believe the nation has ample policy space to counter economic downturn pressures and explore new growth opportunities in sectors like new energy, artificial intelligence and low-carbon industries." Chen Zhichao, an assistant researcher at the Xi Jinping Thought on Economy Study Center, which is part of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, told China Daily the Central Economic Work Conference has called for efforts to develop new productivity boosters, which will inject strong impetus into the country's high-quality economic development. Hideki Ozawa, president and CEO of Canon China, said: "China continuously strives to strengthen its scope of opening-up to the outside world while promoting high-quality economic development and formulating policies to attract investment.