Over the past two years, the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has hit the global economy hard and slowed global investment. However, the Chinese market has remained attractive to foreign investors.

As part of efforts to further open up the market, a shortened negative list for foreign investment in China took effect on the first day of this year. The number of items that were off-limits for foreign investors was cut to 31 in the revised version of the negative list.

Foreign enterprises operating in China said that they were seeing positive changes.

"New regulations have eliminated several restrictions, particularly, the axing of fee restrictions and the ability to choose a Chinese partner or not select a Chinese partner at all for setting up a new business," said Xu Gang, the CEO of European aircraft maker Airbus in China.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, supply chain disruptions in China have been minimal when compared to other major economies. China surpassed the U.S. as the largest recipient of foreign direct investment during the pandemic in 2020 and continued to see record investments in 2021.

"The very swift and very effective reaction by Chinese authorities to get the pandemic under control made it possible for us to return to grow very quickly. We have enjoyed a stable economic environment in China with growth over the last two years," said Ola Kaellenius, the CEO of Daimler, one of the leading automotive companies in the world.

Kaellenius said that he is optimistic about the Chinese market and will continue to increase investment in China.

According to a recent survey from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), about 95 percent of the over 3,000 foreign businesses operating in China remained optimistic about the business environment and growth outlook.

Data from the ministry showed that foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland rose 17.6 percent year-on-year to $15.84 billion in January. The ministry said it will continue to expand the catalog of industries to encourage foreign investment this year.