Their journey took them to Xiamen, Fujian Province, just as the city entered one of its most anticipated moments of the year—the annual China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), the country’s only national-level exhibition focused on investment promotion. From September 8 to 11, the 25th edition of the fair welcomed tens of thousands of participants from over 120 countries and regions, converging in the city to uncover opportunities and make connections.
For Fritsch, founder of the German consulting firm Strategie und Beratung GmbH, participating in the China tour was not about making business transactions. “I’m a networker,” he told Beijing Review. His goal this time was to deepen connections with China’s economic hubs, including Xiamen, and to encourage Chinese companies to showcase their innovations in trade fairs in Germany, such as the renowned industrial exhibition Hannover Messe in 2026.
Other delegates, whether first-time visitors or regulars, shared the same curiosity to discover what future opportunities China might hold.
Themed Join Hands with China, Invest in the Future, this year’s CIFIT featured an exhibition area of 120,000 square meters, with more than 70 investment-focused events and over 100 project roadshows. High-level forums and authoritative new reports on investment added further value to the fair.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the event on September 8, noting that CIFIT, with its permanent theme of Further Expanding Bilateral Investment, Jointly Facilitating Global Development, has played a positive role in promoting the building of an open world economy and has become an effective platform for global investors to deepen practical cooperation.
As a major contributor and anchor of stability for global economic growth, China will unswervingly expand high-level opening up, promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, continue to share its development opportunities with the world, and inject more positive energy and certainty into global development, Xi said.
Future investment
On September 8, the inaugural Future Investment Conference 2025 kicked off as a sideline event of CIFIT, co-organized by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Xiamen Municipal Government.
“The conference comes at a decisive time when the world urgently needs more investment, and when such investment must be better aligned with the needs of the future,” Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary General of the UNCTAD, said at the event. “Investment remains the engine of development. It finances infrastructure, drives technological progress and creates jobs.”
However, global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 11 percent in 2024 to $1.5 trillion—the second consecutive year of decline, according to the World Investment Report 2025 released during CIFIT.
“Geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in trade policy, especially the frequent shifts in tariff measures this year, have further undermined investor confidence,” Nan Li Collins, Director of UNCTAD’s Division on Investment and Enterprise, told Beijing Review.
Against this backdrop, the question is what measures can be taken to stimulate both domestic and cross-border investment. The conference set out to address these challenges by building a platform that facilitates capital flows and fosters deeper international cooperation. Beyond dialogue, it also sought to deliver practical support, particularly for developing countries, Li said.
One example was the participation of an African nation, whose representatives received capacity-building assistance, from project preparation and investor engagement to risk management, all aimed at enabling tangible investment cooperation, Li added.
Fritsch was impressed by the spirit of inclusive development he observed at CIFIT. “In some countries, when they invest in countries from Africa or Asia, the focus is only on making money, without considering local culture or the people’s needs. What I see here is different—China is also investing, but in a way that aims to bring a better life to the people in those countries,” he said.
Fritsch also observed during the trip that Chinese companies show strong interest in working not only with Germany’s corporate giants but also with its smaller firms. Many of the delegates represent Germany’s so-called “hidden champions”—specialized small and medium-sized enterprises that lead niche markets globally.
The visit was organized by the China International Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) (Germany), established in 2014 to implement the consensus reached between the Chinese and German governments on expanding two-way investment. The agency also serves as a bridge for industrial cooperation between China, Germany and broader Europe, coordinating with Chinese provinces and cities to set up representative offices in Germany and exploring pragmatic models for investment promotion.
A former member of Volkswagen Group’s Global Supervisory Board, Fritsch’s connection with China goes back to 1991, when he first visited the country. He has since made 15 visits to China, including the trip this September, and has firsthand experience working in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, and Changchun, Jilin Province.
What impressed him most was China’s approach of laying out an economic roadmap five to 10 years in advance, and following it. The industrial clusters in Xiamen, he said, are a vivid example. “This kind of stability is a fundamental strength for economic cooperation between our two countries,” he said.
Fritsch said Germany and China vary greatly from each other, from food to working style and the pace of work. “But what does it matter? The key is to cooperate,” he stressed.
According to another report released during the event, the quality of China’s two-way investment continued to rise in 2024. As the world’s third largest FDI recipient, China has also ranked among the top three globally for both outbound investment flows and stock for several consecutive years.
Amid the current challenges, the World Investment Report 2025 identifies investment in the digital economy as an engine of growth. That investment is expanding at an annual rate of 10-12 percent, outpacing global GDP growth and accounting for a rising share of value creation worldwide.
Ling Ji, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce, emphasized at the conference that green development, innovation and healthcare have emerged as the three core directions for future investment.
Global development
The Nepalese Government has set goals to graduate from Least Developed Country status by November 2026 and to become a lower-middle-income country by 2030.
“In the past, Nepal relied heavily on international aid as one of the least developed countries. Looking ahead, however, the priority is to transform aid into investment opportunities,” Sushil Gyawali, Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Board of Nepal, told Beijing Review. “We welcome Chinese investors in areas such as the digital economy, energy, tourism and agriculture.”
“We hope to draw on China’s strength in science and technology to accelerate Nepal’s development, while creating opportunities for Chinese companies to establish a foothold in our market,” he said. “Nepal can also serve as a gateway for Chinese investment into South Asia.”
Nepal is ready to play its part in helping shape the region into a dynamic economic hub, according to him.
In 2024, Hungary became the top destination for China’s outbound direct investment in Europe for the second consecutive year, according to the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency.
Fadi Shadeh, an official from the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, credited Hungary’s strong investment performance to its strategic political ties with China, a highly skilled talent pool tailored to meet investors’ needs, a conducive investment environment which includes well-developed industrial sites, strong university partnerships, and a favorable taxation framework.
In an interview with Beijing Review, Shadeh emphasized that Hungary offers the lowest corporate income tax rate of 9 percent in the European Union, which can be further reduced through various incentive-based subsidies. “This makes Hungary an attractive destination not only for Chinese investors but also for companies from all over the world,” he said. “We strongly believe in connectivity, in building bridges and in maintaining strong relationships, and open environments with all global players.”
“I was deeply impressed by the exceptional organization of CIFIT in bringing together countries from all over the world, both developed and developing. It embodies the philosophy embraced by China—solidarity and international cooperation,” Salomon Eheth, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cameroon to the United Nations Office, World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organizations in Geneva, told Beijing Review at the Night of Gulangyu, another sideline event of CIFIT. “It also demonstrates China’s strong commitment to advancing efforts in investment and cooperation with all countries.”
“Despite the global economic turbulence, we remain positive,” he said. “We have strong partnership with China. Unlike many other countries, China understands that trade is essential for the wellbeing of humanity. Its dedication and commitment are focused on finding solutions.”
“In the coming months, we will be organizing the WTO Ministerial Conference. One of the key priorities for this upcoming conference is the continued reform of the WTO. This reform aims to strengthen regulations and ensure a sustainable global trade market. We emphasize the importance of equity through sound regulation to support the effective functioning of the world market,” Eheth said.
“We believe that both Cameroon and China, along with other major nations, recognize that the WTO and trade are crucial for development and the wellbeing of all people. There is a shared commitment to finding solutions to these pressing issues,” he added. –The Daily Mail-Beijing Review News exchange item
