Editor's note: The year 2021 marks the start of China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause great uncertainty to the world economy, the Chinese economy has maintained growth and resilience, especially for the import and export sectors.

How do multinational executives evaluate the performance of their companies, respective industries, as well as the Chinese economy in 2021? What are their expectations for 2022? Let's take a look.

Allan Gabor, president of Merck China and managing director, Merck Electronics China

Q1: How do you evaluate your company's performance in China as well as in the global market in 2021?

Merck has been in China for 88 years. To accelerate the implementation process of In China For China, China, as a strategic market both in market size and growing capacity, has become our second-strongest growth driver and second-largest sales market worldwide. With the double-digit growth, China remains the No 1 market for oncology, general medicine as well as for our electronics sectors.

We have also reached important milestones for localization in China, to be closer to our customers.

In addition to our two existing innovation hubs, we launched Shanghai Innovation Base in October, to bring in innovative startups and partner with them in strategic growth fields for Merck, such as AI-enabled health solutions, bioelectronics and cultured meat, as well as early-stage exploration in the fields of neuromorphic systems and organoids.

In terms of healthcare business, we have made efforts to improve the accessibility and affordability of innovative solutions nationwide.

By leveraging Lecheng Global Special Drug Insurance, our two innovative drugs not yet listed in China have been included in the special drug catalogue of 2021, namely the oral MET inhibitor Tepmetko and PD-L1 inhibitor Bavencio, which will certainly benefit our Chinese patients.

Besides, investment is another major focus in the innovators of tomorrow which also plays a key role to expand R&D capacities and local production.

In our electronics business sector, as part of our Level Up program announced in September, we plan to invest significantly more than 3 billion euros ($3.39 billion) up to the end of 2025.

As for life science, we opened our M Lab Collaboration Center in Shanghai. There, we help biopharmaceutical and biologics companies to improve their processes – from drug discovery to their development to their manufacturing.

From global perspective, we are showing strong profitable growth for Merck with all three business sectors and all regions contributing. Our Big 3 growth engines, process solutions, new healthcare products and semiconductor solutions performed superbly and enabled us to raise our outlook for the full year 2021.

Q2: Do you plan to deepen your company's footprint in China next year? If so, how?

We are committed to China, and will promote and strengthen localization in China market with steady growth and sustainable investment in business and people. To become the most localized multinational company and a trusted partner in China across all of our three business sectors, all our businesses are among the national prioritized industries such as pharmaceuticals, life science and electronics.

We are continuing to extend our footprint in the electronics business. Our strategic investment of Electronics Technology China Center plan to launch in 2022 will be one of our most comprehensive electronics technology centers in China, providing comprehensive technical services and customized material solutions for Chinese local customers and partners, empowering the electronic information industry and digital economy in China.

On the life science part, with one of the broadest product and solution portfolios in the industry, we are dedicated to making scientific research faster and better, and are committed to increasing the effectiveness and quality of drug discovery and biomanufacturing to help increase access to healthcare. This year, we have been dedicated to improving our local capability by enhancing customer experience, strengthen our supply chain capabilities in China. I believe much progress will be announced soon in 2022.

China market is being redefined by the pandemic, digitalization, sustainability and other trends, leading to emerging opportunities in cutting-edge technologies such as biotech, next-gen chips, AI and the human-machine interface. We will embrace a new era with greater integration with innovation and digital transformation.

To accelerate the pace of China development into the global ecosystem, further increase digitization and drive manufacturing interconnection, we put high value on supply chain upgradation, and keep expanding the capacity in China and globally. We believe that ensuring a resilient and reliable supply chain and continued innovation in semiconductor materials are critical for addressing chip shortage challenge along with our customers and partners.

Q3: How do you rate China's economic performance in 2021?

At the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, decisive success in resource allocation, employment creation and reducing energy consumption has been made, which provides guidance to our development strategy in China to meet the fundamental goal of satisfying the people's growing needs for a better life.

China's economy shows great resilience and achieves positive growth regarding its major economic targets, despite global uncertainties and economic downturn caused by the pandemic. We believe fruitful achievements and breakthroughs of China economy can be expected and will inject fresh impetus into the world economy.

Q4: What are your views on the improvements in China's business environment in 2021, and what are your expectations for further reform and opening-up?

With the development of high standard opening-up and latest update of foreign investment policy, a favorable environment of investment has been shaped and more potentials have been cultivated. China has actively promoted international cooperation by continuous shortening the negative list for foreign investment and expanding the opening-up.

Meanwhile, China has adopted a series of policies on intellectual property and talent development to encourage and pursue innovation-driven development. We're glad to witness a vigorous and strong innovative ecosystem is being built up and optimized as the status quo. This will definitely pave the way to a full spectrum of business development, and benefit other perspectives in executing the 14th Five-Year Plan and 2035 Vision.

Foreign businesses, our company included, have benefited a lot from China's rise and advancement. To further leverage national platform and seize new opportunities in China, we make and adjust our enterprise strategy consistent with the nation plan, give full play to advantages in life science, healthcare and electronics, driving healthy profitable economic growth and nurturing business potentials based on the requirements of development nationwide.

Q5: What are your forecasts of China and the global economic performance in 2022?

We believe China will achieve economic growth well above its target in 2021, and follow a positive trend despite the threats posed by COVID-19 variants and supply constraints. We believe there will be emerging markets and growing opportunities nationwide in the face of ever-changing environment.

As for the global economy, there is a continuing recovery, even as the pandemic resurges. It seems being back on track slowly but steadily with joint efforts of the international community. Also, China keeps contributing to global economy as a major stabilizer and key driver.

In this regard, our unique strategic position and diversified business pipeline will give play to the leading role in our expertized field and supporting part in the development of both the world and China, improving people's wellbeing and life to some extent. Our Merck Group is very dedicated to human progress, and we are also proud to play our part in promoting the development of sustainable science and technology.

Alan Li, president, CBRE China

Q1: How do you evaluate your company's performance in China as well as in the global market in 2021?

China has always been a critical market for CBRE, and is now one of the strongest growth markets among the more than 100 countries and regions in which CBRE operates.

In 2021, we have witnessed the huge achievements that China has made in preventing the rebound of COVID-19, and benefit from the journey as a global company. With the emergence of new trends and changes, demand for commercial real estate has been rising steadily, presenting sizable opportunities for us. This year, CBRE China continues to expand in business and scale, riding on strong momentum of industrial upgrading, technology innovation, and a new phase of urbanization.

We've had a presence here for more than 40 years, and now we operate with nine full-service offices in the Chinese mainland conducting work across over 100 cities. Our business in China has evolved to meet the expanding needs of our clients and stakeholders – today we increasingly serve the needs of our Chinese clients to support their national and global ambitions.

Q2: Do you plan to deepen your company's footprint in China next year? If so, how?

Localization and collaboration are the core strategies of CBRE.

To deepen our footprint in China, we will not only extend our service to wider geographic scope and larger client base, but also align CBRE's business strategy with China's ongoing economic and social transformation. One area I would like to highlight is decarbonization.

As China puts forward its "3060" carbon goals, real estate is indispensable in the process of reducing carbon emissions. As a worldwide commercial real estate services and investment firm, CBRE will further enhance our holistic approach from urban planning to property management, from office buildings to industrial facilities, to help our clients minimize business risk and total cost of ownership while reducing carbon emission.

CBRE has recently announced a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040. This commitment encompasses carbon emissions from CBRE's own operations and the properties we manage for investors and occupiers, as well as indirect supply chain emissions. This is an essential element of our commitment to the local communities.

Q3: How do you rate China's economic performance in 2021?

China continued to lead global economic recovery, with its GDP increasing by 9.8 percent year-on-year during the first three quarters of 2021. Structural upgrading sped up. Advanced manufacturing and high-tech service sectors both realized much faster growth by over 20 percent.

As a barometer of economy, commercial real estate market has demonstrated a sharp rebound. As a commercial real estate services and investment company, CBRE found that for the first three quarters of 2021, net absorption for both office and warehouse space, and overall commercial real investment volume all hit new record highs in China.

The dual-circulation paradigm has encouraged a rapid rise in demand for Industrial assets – whether logistics, warehouse, cold storage and data centers. Investment into these asset classes hit a record level in the first three quarters.

Q4: What are your views on the improvements in China's business environment in 2021, and what are your expectations for the country's further reform and opening-up?

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China's accession to WTO, and China's continued commitment to opening-up strengthens our confidence and resolution to continue to expand our strategic footprint in China.

We witnessed further improvement of China's business environment in 2021. The proposed negative list for foreign investment was further shortened, and recently the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission announced to remove the cap on foreign ownership of insurance asset management companies. In addition, domestic reform and breakthrough such as public REITs and Beijing Stock Exchange continued to drive the economic transformation and upgrade.

This is set to significantly benefit CBRE's business in China. Our latest survey shows that over 60 percent of occupiers plan to expand their China presence in the next three years, with TMT and life science companies being most active. Meanwhile, we believe the official launch of China's public REITs market this year will greatly activate the industrial real estate sector, and the entire commercial property market in the long run.

This year, China's determination to promote the high-level opening-up and the need for further global cooperation across trade and investment, digital economy, and sustainable development has been reiterated. In 2022, RCEP will officially come into force. I am very looking forward to China's further opening-up and reform. CBRE will continue to leverage our global platform and localized know-how to create value for our clients in China.

Q5: What are your forecasts of China and the global economic performance in 2022?

Despite the recent outbreak of Omicron variant and geographically uneven vaccination and recovery process, we expect the global economy to stay on track of normalization.

The latest China Economic Work Conference sets stability as the top priority for 2022, with sustained intensity of fiscal expenditure, prudent but accommodative monetary policy, continued improvement of business environment and transformation toward an innovation-driven development model.

We expect China's GDP to expand by more than 5 percent, and remain as the leading contributor to the growth and resilience of the global economy. In the meantime, its underpinning long-term trends such as urbanization, rising middle class and technological upgrade will continue to unfold new opportunities in the commercial real estate sector investment such as logistics, life science, built to rent sectors, as well as cyclical opportunities such as grade A offices in tier-one cities.

Mats Harborn, president of Scania China Group

Q1: How do you evaluate your company's performance in China as well as in the global market in 2021?

2021 has been a contradictory year for my company. On the one hand, we have a historic all-time high global order intake, but on the other hand, we are experiencing supply chain problems due to, among other things, the COVID-19 pandemic.

In China 2021, the first half of the year was also an all-time high for the Chinese heavy-duty truck industry, but the second half of this year has been sluggish. The reason is that there were some significant pre-buy effects of vehicles before the introduction of China-VI emission standards from July 1. We now see the market develop in a much more sustainable way, which will pave the way for both restructuring and upgrade of the whole industry.

Q2: Do you plan to deepen your company's footprint in China next year? If so, how?

Yes, we are deepening our footprint in the broadest sense. As the Chinese transport market becomes more sustainable and regulated, demand for efficient and compliant transport solutions such as the ones Scania offer will be in more demand.

Q3: How do you rate China's economic performance in 2021?

Considering the complex pandemic and global environment, China has done very well and showed remarkable constraint in not falling into the trap of stimulating industries that now need to undergo restructuring after years of unconstrained growth. This will contribute to creating a more mature structure of the Chinese economy.

Q4: What are your views on the improvements in China's business environment in 2021, and what are your expectations for the country's further reform and opening-up?

We expect China to keep opening up its economy and that new regulation and standards will be introduced.

Q5: What are your forecasts of China and the global economic performance in 2022?

At this moment the fast spread of the Omicron mutation is causing a lot of uncertainty. Also the, hopefully temporary, inflation spike in many countries is causing uncertainty. On the other hand, governments across the world have developed tools to deal with such global challenges, and we hope that these new skills will come to good use. We also predict that the commitments made at the Glasgow COP26 meeting will push an accelerated development of carbon-reducing technologies and solutions. The companies that adapt the quickest to this reality will become even more competitive.