A growing number of manufacturing entrepreneurs worldwide have chosen China as their launchpad, citing the country's well-established supply chain and rapid pace of development as key drivers behind their decision to start up businesses and scale up investments there.

Swedish entrepreneur John Loewbaeck is one of them. His elevator company in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, is running in full swing to fulfill orders from around the world, including those from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

The company has seen a sales surge from just six units in its first year of production in 2021 to nearly 900 in 2025, which he attributes to China's flexible supply chain and efficient logistics.

"If we receive the order, let's say today, we could probably, I mean, produce and ship it out already next week," he said.
However, European competitors, by contrast, often need four to five months, he said.

About 70 percent of the company's components come from local suppliers, including glass, metal and aluminum, delivering better prices and faster turnaround.

Taicang, where John's family is based, is home to 12,000 industrial enterprises and over 1,800 foreign-invested firms. Backed by the Yangtze River Delta's comprehensive industrial chain, multimodal logistics, port-adjacent location and dense transport networks, the city gives John great confidence in his future development.

"We have many important suppliers in China. So we've been here for five or six years, but we are investing more and more into China," he said.
A similar story has unfolded in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, where American entrepreneur Ladon Ghalili and her husband have run an electronics design and manufacturing company since 1993, growing alongside China's industrial upgrading. The company now produces equipment shipped to Europe and the United States.

"China is becoming easier and easier to do things, everything. We use our Chinese experience to train (factories in) other countries," Ghalili said.

She frequently shares her experience with overseas peers.

"In fact, it's one of the biggest markets in the world. And it is very advanced. So if they want to invest, definitely they should look into China," she said.