A delegation of 40 senior executives from 20 multinational companies in China visited Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, on Friday to look for more business opportunities and further facilitate cooperation.

The group included representatives from Panasonic, the Thales Group, Knorr-Bremse, Dow, Nokia, Citibank, BHP Billiton and Amway. 

They visited several locations, like the Wuhan National Bioindustry Base and an optical fiber and cable manufacturer in Donghu New Technology Development Zone, also referred to as China  "Optics Valley."

The visit took place after the city began to recover from the scars of the pandemic that had once made it the epicenter in China, killing nearly 4,000 people and infecting more than 50,000. 

According to Lin Songtian, head of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the 20 multinational companies donated 150 million yuan (about 21.9 million U.S. dollars) worth of materials and cash to Wuhan after the COVID-19 hit the city. He told reporters that the timing of the visit shows these companies' recognition and support for Wuhan and China's resumption of work and production.

Joseph Han, managing director of Knorr-Bremse China, told local media outlets that the main purpose of the Wuhan visit is to facilitate cooperation. Based in Munich, Knorr-Bremse is one of the world's leading manufacturers of braking systems and supplier of sub-systems for rail and commercial vehicles. The company has over 4,600 employees in 13 Chinese cities, including Shiyan, in Hubei.

Han said the Shiyan branch started to build Wuhan R&D Center in late 2019, and it was expected to be completed at the end of 2020. As Wuhan is recovering from the epidemic quickly, he believes once the center is finished, it will provide better and quick services for commercial vehicles in China, especially for Dongfeng vehicles.

"I've been to Wuhan for many times, but I've never been as excited as I am now. The city has withstood the tests of the epidemic and the flood," Han told Chang Jiang Daily, "After visiting the Wuhan National Bioindustry Base, I was amazed. There are so many new technologies, which have attracted a lot of domestic and international companies and talents."

Markus Borchert, President of Nokia Greater China and CEO of Nokia Shanghai Bell, told local media outlets he was impressed by the recovery of China's travel and business activities as other countries are stilling suffering the economic challenges brought by COVID-19.

"The fact that people are able to travel as freely as they did, shows that China has efficiently managed the COVID-19 epidemic," Borchert told Chang Jiang Daily.

During the pandemic, Nokia Shanghai Bell, together with Hubei Telecom, built the first 5G communication base station for Huoshenshan Hospital on January 25. "I'm proud that Nokia workers have joined the fight against the coronavirus on the front line," Borchert said, adding it only took them one and a half days to finish the job.

"Nokia has been in China for more than 40 years and has been part of the growth of the Chinese economy,"Borchert said, adding the digital transformation will be the strongest engine to support China's economic recovery.

Wuhan is one of the leading industrial bases in China. Different from Silicon Valley in the U.S., the Optics Valley was designated as a high technology zone for optical information technology and biomedical industry.  

Wuhan National Bioindustry Base made a total revenue of over 100 billion yuan (some 14.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019.

As China's economy is recovering from the pandemic, the senior executives believe that Wuhan is no exception and the V-shaped recovery of the city is only getting started. 

Official dada shows that China's GDP expanded by 3.2 percent year on year in Q2, reversing a 6.8-percent contraction in the previous quarter. China's fiscal revenue marked the first expansion this year by gaining 3.2 percent year on year in June, while the contraction of the retail sector declined markedly.