Editor's note: Hamzah Rifaat Hussain, a former visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and former assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, is a TV anchor at Indus News in Pakistan. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Greater economic interdependence between countries and boosting foreign direct investments can reap further joint economic collaboration and prosperity. 

At a regular press conference on December 16, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin, spoke about China offering "a more market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment for foreign companies, and remain a promising investment destination for businesses from Germany, Australia and the rest of the world." Trends in 2022 suggest some optimism. If respective governments prioritize growth of private corporations by tapping into market opportunities for profit making in China, there's plenty to look forward to. 

In difficult economic times that are characterized by supply side shocks, economic recessions and stagnant consumer confidence in the domestic markets, it's crucial for countries to raise business confidence and linkages with diverse and dynamic markets. 

According to survey results by the German Chamber of Commerce in China and China-Australia Chamber of Commerce that were conducted among German and Australian businesses in China, the majority of respondents remain optimistic. 77 percent of German companies are expecting an increase in their annual industrial growth over the next five years while 66 percent of Australian companies plan to see a return or to exceed pre-pandemic levels of investment in China. Furthermore, 58 percent of Australian respondents indicated that China was their top three priorities for global investments over the next three years. 

As Wang Wenbin noted, cooperation would be the overriding trends that can be capitalized on for populations to witness win-win outcomes. According to the German Institute for Economic Research, in the first half of 2022 German companies investing in China had hit a record high, which included state owned investment and development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau as they had invested $1.64 billion in a railway project linking north China's Tianjin city to Beijing Daxing International Airport. 

Similarly, the survey results from the "Doing Business in China Report 2022" indicate how Australian corporations remain optimistic about China, despite the pandemic's restrictions on people's movements and tensions between the two countries. According to the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne Professor Paul Kofman, such optimism is grounded in China's low-carbon targets and its consumption shifts to higher quality products and services.

China's internationalized business climate can benefit foreign firms. The state level endorsement of high-speed growth and cooperation among member states with the 2022 Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment aligning with Beijing's plans to attract investments in production-oriented service industries and high-tech manufacturing. Global companies can also invest in China's rural revitalization, educational services, healthcare and green energy. 

Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Zhao Chenxin, in October 2022 said the Chinese economy in 2022 has focused on encouraging deeper investments in advanced manufacturing, high-tech cooperation, energy conservation and environmental protection. 

The world economies should prioritize business growth, employment, income generation and collective prosperity instead of sparking geopolitical hostilities. It's time to eschew negative propaganda. which have been perpetuated by the Western media over China's commitments towards global economic inclusivity. Such narratives fail to account for several measures that can boost global economic growth aimed at preventing the widening of the global income divides and supporting markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia. 

Recent examples in 2022, which go beyond the Belt and Road Initiative and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, include WTO negotiations that were concluded in December 2022 on the China-led Investment Facilitation for Development, which aims to establish international rules for conducting business, improving transparency of investment measures and streamlining investment-related administrative processes.

Concerns over the domestic COVID-19 measures have dampened growth prospects. Wang Wenbin said China follows a coordinated approach to balancing pandemic protection and promoting socioeconomic development. China's GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate was 5.1 percent in 2020-2021, making it one of the world's best performing economies. 

The open, prosperous and well-connected economy requires greater foreign direct investments. Survey results and economic growth prospects provide optimism on investments in China.

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