Accompanying an economic slowdown are lots of adjustments going on in the Chinese system right now, including the anti-corruption campaign, state-owned enterprise reform, and the shadow banking discussion, Cote pointed out. China's evolution has been rapid, and the Chinese government has been evolving with the economy, according to the senior businessman.
The Chinese government has stressed environmental protection, vowing to improve air and water quality, which Cote said is "very consistent with the evolution of the economy" and also meant significant business opportunities for Honeywell.
China alone takes up around 6 percent of Honeywell's annual revenue, a record 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, making it the largest sales market outside of the United States for Honeywell.
CHINA'S USE OF FDI
Entrepreneurs' confident claims about the Chinese market are backed up by latest data concerning China's use of foreign direct investment (FDI).
In the first half of 2015, a total of 420.52 billion yuan in FDI was used in China, a year-on-year increase of 8 percent, Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said on Friday.
"The growth rate expanded a lot from the 2.2 percent registered in the same period last year, thanks to the MOC's expansion of free trade agreements, fewer government restrictions and promotion of opening up in certain industries and inland areas," Wang said.
The service industry absorbed the largest amount of FDI in the first six months, accounting for 63.5 percent of the total in the country, with a year-on-year increase of 23.6 percent, according to the vice minister.
High-end manufacturing industries such as communication equipment, pharmaceuticals and electronic devices led in attracting FDI.
China has obvious advantages in attracting FDI, Wang said, citing the country's large market size, strong industrial support and good infrastructure. "China will see this year's total FDI usage reach 125 billion U.S. dollars, up 4 percent more or less from the previous year."
China became the world's largest recipient of FDI in 2014, with inflows reaching 129 billion U.S. dollars, a 3.7-percent increase compared to 2013, according to the World Investment Report 2015 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in June.
In contrast, global FDI inflows fell to 1.23 trillion U.S. dollars in 2014, down from 1.47 trillion U.S. dollars in 2013, representing a 16-percent drop, the report said, adding that the fragility of the global economy, policy uncertainty for investors and increased geopolitical risks were the main reasons behind the decline.
Thanks to the government's pro-growth policies and reform measures paving the way for steady improvement, China's GDP posted better-than-expected year-on-year growth of 7 percent in the first half of the year.
