For all its structural challenges, China offers something the West no longer seems to: policy continuity and a sense of stability
3-MIN READ3-MINChris PereiraPublished: 4:30pm, 1 Apr 2026Against a backdrop of war and global uncertainty, Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a clear message at the recent China Development Forum: China is committed to being a “harbour of stability” for the world. The forum, which drew CEOs from global companies such as Siemens, Nestlé and Apple, signalled to the world that while the United States flails, China offers reliability and steady governance.Even before the US-Israeli war on Iran, however, my inbox was already telling me that something was shifting. Folks I hadn’t spoken to in nearly a decade were suddenly reaching out, and they were all talking about the same thing: China.Interest in entering or re-entering China has quadrupled year on year at our firm just for the first three months of 2026. Executives from Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East are asking me: is now the right time to engage with China? Some are cautious, others urgent. But all of them are paying attention.
In the hi-tech sectors, the findings are even more of an eye opener. Foreign investment surged by over 75 per cent in China’s e-commerce services and by 42 per cent in medical instruments and medical device manufacturing last year.
