China's pledges to "expand high-standard opening-up" and "guide the overseas distribution of industrial and supply chains in a rational and orderly manner" in this year's Government Work Report have been welcomed by European observers and businesses, who hail the country as both a stabilizing force in global supply chains and a key source of fresh growth opportunities.

Pascal Coppens, author of China's Next Miracle, highlighted the global relevance of this model. "China's growth has been a key driver of the global economy over the past years, and it will likely continue to support growth going forward," he said.

"This impact is not limited to China alone, because much of the growth comes from industries that are in global demand," Coppens said, pointing in particular to renewable energy. "From batteries to solar panels and wind turbines ... China's strong supply capacity and resilience are especially important ... China can move quickly and help other countries obtain the components and products they need."

This capacity is echoed by David Tabacznyj, founder of AllIance, a France-based AI training company operating in China. "China is sending a very strong signal right now through infrastructure, AI, and supply chains," he said. "That gives confidence, because it shows not only size, but also direction, consistency, and the ability to execute."

For European businesses, he stressed, this is not only about numbers: "It is also about the capacity to plan clearly, move fast, and deliver at scale. Strong supply chains in China are a real opportunity for Europe. They create more stability, more reliability, and more room for long-term cooperation."

"A total of 93 percent of German companies operating in China intend to remain engaged in the market, and a majority plan further investment," said Michael Schumann, chairman of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade, adding that China "has evolved from a manufacturing hub into a highly integrated ecosystem combining scale, infrastructure, innovation and speed, making it a key node in global production, sourcing and also in research and development".

Schumann called for strengthening cooperation with China, which he believes remains essential to building more resilient, efficient and future-oriented global supply chains.

'Building bridges'

"Where some see the need to build walls, we choose to build bridges," said Patrick Hollenfeltz, who runs TLS Express Logistics in China. "Europe brings regulatory excellence, innovation, and high-value manufacturing, China contributes scale, agility, and unmatched industrial capabilities. The real strategic question is not whether to choose between the two — but how to connect them intelligently."

Opportunities linked to China's growth are also visible in the services sector. In Belgium, Andre Dominique, working at the famous tourist site Citadel of Dinant, said her boss believes so strongly in the Chinese market that this year he has invested in a new tool, a tablet which offers an immersive tour of the Citadel in Chinese, alongside European languages.

"We have been trying to understand and adapt to the Chinese market. That's why we have more than 10 percent of Chinese visitors. The better connectivity between Belgium and China is a good opportunity to get more visitors," she told China Daily.

For long-time business practitioners, stability remains a defining advantage. Yueming Mao, a Chinese-Belgian entrepreneur, said, "At a moment of chaos in the whole world, China has the unique advantage of staying out of the conflicts, secure and stable.

"Every businessperson has witnessed how China's neutral diplomacy has ensured that those investing in this country could do it with a sense of security, something that's rather rare in other parts of the world," said Mao.