Despite a subdued global investment sentiment, multinational companies are confident about investing in China and firmly believe innovations can represent the most significant growth opportunities for them in the Chinese market, said Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing.

位于北京的中国国际贸易经济合作研究院高级研究员周密表示，尽管全球投资情绪低迷，但跨国公司对在中国投资充满信心，并坚信创新是它们在中国市场最重要的增长机会。

Against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown and subdued cross-border investments, foreign direct investment into China's manufacturing industry grew by 6.8 percent year-on-year to 239.95 billion yuan ($32.86 billion) in the first eight months, while that of high-tech manufacturing soared 19.7 percent on a yearly basis, the Ministry of Commerce said.

商务部表示，在全球经济放缓和跨境投资低迷的背景下，前8个月，中国制造业的外国直接投资同比增长6.8%，达到2399.5亿元人民币（328.6亿美元），而高科技制造业的外商直接投资同比飙升19.7%。

Despite subdued global economic growth and challenges to China's economic recovery, the nation has continuously attracted foreign direct investment, as investors have a positive outlook about the world's second-largest economy pursuing Chinese modernization, experts said.

专家表示，尽管全球经济增长放缓，中国经济复苏面临挑战，但中国仍不断吸引外国直接投资，因为投资者对这个世界第二大经济体追求中国现代化持积极看法。

The company is just one example showing that foreign investors are firmly confident in their development prospects in China, as the Chinese economy looks set for a recovery in 2023 against the background of a slowing global economy and subdued international investor sentiment.

该公司只是一个例子，表明外国投资者对他们在中国的发展前景充满信心，因为在全球经济放缓和国际投资者情绪低迷的背景下，中国经济有望在2023年复苏。

"Asked his take on China's economic prospects amid the projected subdued global economy, Deng said the country's development will bank on its advantages of continuously upgrading and improving the industrial base, high-quality human resources, huge potential market and enhanced innovation capacity.

Despite a flurry of delegates dashing in golf carts between parked jetliners, missiles and spy planes, this year's gathering appeared relatively subdued, with a profit warning from Lufthansa adding to trade tensions and slowing economies.

But the market demand for subsea support vessels remains low due to the low price of oil, and the general market outlook for the industry is expected to remain subdued in the long term, according to the annual report of the shipbuilder.

China's consumer prices dropped for the third consecutive month in December, indicating subdued demand and prompting calls for additional stimulus measures to invigorate domestic demand and encourage consumption.

Economists: Focus should be on tasks such as spending on big-ticket itemsChina is likely to take more steps to revive consumer demand and boost spending appetites next year as it seeks to inject strong impetus into a consumption-led recovery amid pressure from subdued demand and property sector weakness, economists said on Wednesday.

Fiscal and monetary policies should be harmonized to achieve that goal, Gong said, stressing that there is an urgent need to reduce interest rate levels as subdued inflation intensifies corporates' real cost to service their debt, which has impeded their investment willingness.

Wen, from China Minsheng Bank, said that China's CPI will likely register positive growth in February with stronger policy support, while the PPI may continue to remain in the negative territory for the next few months amid subdued external demand.

"Consumption growth remains subdued and activity in the real estate sector continues to weaken, but monetary policy easing and additional infrastructure investment will help underpin domestic demand," the OECD said in its latest report.

Despite a subdued investment sentiment worldwide, China's recent announcement to remove all restrictions on foreign investment access to the manufacturing industry, as well as favorable government policies that spur innovation, will hold great appeal to multinational corporations, said Sun Xiao, secretary-general of the Beijing-based China Chamber of International Commerce.

Du Haiming, assistant director of the sales department at New Times Shipbuilding Co, said, "Even though many parts of the world still face uncertainty and challenges in the global economy, including fragile supply chains and subdued investment sentiment, orders placed by our clients in the Asia-Pacific region have remained high since last year.

Yu Yongding, an academic member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told China Daily in an exclusive interview that it is necessary for the nation to set next year's GDP growth target at a rate that outruns this year's growth, as long as inflation remains subdued.

The IMF, however, cautioned that growth could slow in 2024 amid property market weakness and subdued external demand.

"Faster growth is needed to anchor the expectations of businesses and households," Li said, attributing their currently subdued sentiment to slower economic growth in recent years, which resulted in a tepid increase in corporate earnings and household incomes.

Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank, said that China's inflation may remain subdued for a quarter before moderately recovering early next year, given that domestic demand improves slower than supply while external demand may remain sluggish.

Yu Yongding, an academic member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told China Daily in an exclusive interview that it is necessary for China to set next year's GDP growth target at a rate that outruns this year's growth as long as inflation remains subdued.

"Faster growth is needed to anchor the expectations of businesses and households," Li said, attributing the current subdued sentiment among them mainly to slower economic growth in recent years, which resulted in a tepid increase in corporate earnings and household income.

However, recovery signs seen amid series of supportive policy measuresChina's factory activity unexpectedly shrank in October after returning to expansionary territory the month before, official data showed on Tuesday, reflecting subdued demand and shoring up the case for further steps to consolidate recovery.

Though the global investment sentiment remains subdued, foreign enterprises have sufficient confidence in investing in China, said Zhang Xin, spokesman for the Beijing-headquartered CCPIT.

Despite a globally subdued investment sentiment, executives of foreign companies said they are inspired by China's promise to remove all restrictions on foreign investment access to manufacturing.

China is expected to step up policy support to further stabilize its exports, which face a continuous impact from subdued external demand amid rising protectionism and global economic uncertainties, according to experts and government officials.

Dong said demand from the US and Europe remains somewhat subdued compared to pre-pandemic levels.

"The largest exception to this pattern is China, where headline inflation is subdued and below the authorities' target, and the PBOC reduced interest rates in June and August," it added.

"Data on sentiment remains subdued, reflecting the extent of the confidence crisis among homebuyers, consumers, and investors, notwithstanding the cyclical support to activity from stimulus.

Private investment also remained subdued, edging down 0.7 percent year-on-year in the first eight months, compared with a 0.5-percent drop from January to July, according to the NBS.

Since the beginning of this year, economic and trade growth has been subdued worldwide.

There's been a quantity-to-quality shift in inflow of investments, analysts sayChina's wide appeal for multinational corporations will continue due to its robust domestic market and its unwavering dedication to opening up its economy, despite a globally subdued investment sentiment, said analysts and heads of foreign chambers of commerce in China.

Despite a flurry of policy adjustments in late July, market performance still remains subdued.

Against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown and subdued cross-border investments, China's high-tech manufacturing witnessed a year-on-year increase of 28.8 percent in actual FDI use between January and June, said Yao Jun, head of the planning department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

China's foreign trade grew steadily in the first seven months of the year but exports in July declined at a steeper-than-expected pace amid subdued global consumer demand, which highlights the need to roll out stronger policy steps to further boost the country's foreign trade, experts said on Tuesday.

In March, labor-intensive products such as bags, clothing and toys registered significantly higher export growth rates, while exports of electronic goods remained subdued.

However, due to multiple factors, consumer spending on home appliances, furniture and interior finish remained subdued.

Gong Liutang, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC, said that data for the first half of the year indicates the economy is facing a prominent problem of insufficient demand amid subdued price levels.

This should be part of the package of forceful measures in the offing to revive the momentum of recovery, they said, as the country's second-quarter economic growth results, which are scheduled to be released on Monday, may indicate subdued demand in the private sector.

Experts said that private investment for the first half of the year, which is due to be released on Monday, may remain subdued as the private economy is wrestling with weakening external demand and falling profits amid disinflationary headwinds.

These, she said, subdue investment and consumption demand and induce month-on-month declines in imports by these economies.

China's foreign trade grew at a much slower pace than expected in May amid multiple headwinds, such as intensifying geopolitical tensions and a sagging world economy, which subdued global demand, prompting experts to call for greater policy support to stabilize the country's export growth.

In addition, a weak external demand will dampen growth, and while the reopening will support services trade, subdued infrastructure and manufacturing activity will weigh on overall trade, as services activity tends to be less trade intensive, the report noted.

Zhou Maohua, an analyst at China Everbright Bank, said that despite rapid growth in consumption of high-end goods — like jewelry — and services such as catering, expenditure on durable goods such as furniture and home appliances remained subdued in April.

Looking ahead, he said his team expects China's CPI to rise 0.3 percent year-on-year in April, as food prices are likely to continue declining sequentially, while core inflation remains subdued on falling PPI inflation.

MOC data showed the actual use of foreign capital on the Chinese mainland reached 127.69 billion yuan ($18.61 billion) in January, up 14.5 percent year-on-year, despite subdued global investment sentiment.

Top executives from an increasing number of big-name multinational companies are planning to visit China next month, highlighting the significance of China in multinational companies' business plans, particularly amid subdued global economic prospects, experts said.

"Both the United States and Europe may face a year of subdued growth, and China, with an anticipated 5.7 percent growth in 2023, will benefit them a lot," Xing said.

They describe these moves as a "race against time" to spur subdued demand, develop ties with new foreign clients via face-to-face communication, uplift new foreign trade formats, such as building overseas warehouses, and diversify their sales channels via cross-border e-commerce.

"Amid subdued global FDI sentiments, the robust FDI growth last year indicated foreign investors are upbeat about the supersized China market and its improving business environment," said Wei Jianguo, a former vice-minister of commerce and vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing, said that despite facing external uncertainties and disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, China will remain attractive to multinationals this year, as its massive market and opening-up measures will boost business confidence despite globally subdued investment sentiment.

China will remain a crucial market for global companies as high-level opening-up, emerging industries and the size of the consumer base boost confidence amid subdued global investment sentiment, according to analysts and heads of foreign business chambers.

China will remain a key go-to destination for multinational corporations in 2023 as the country's massive and lucrative domestic market and its opening-up measures boost business confidence amid subdued global investment sentiment, said business executives on Thursday.

Trade observers describe such business trips as a "race against time" to boost subdued demand and build ties with new clients overseas via face-to-face communication.

Yet in China, the overarching inflation has remained subdued, and that leaves room for an accommodative monetary policy.

Georgieva said that in China, however, the overarching inflation has remained subdued, and that leaves room for accommodative monetary policy.

China's factory activity contracted in November as renewed COVID-19 outbreaks disrupted output and subdued demand, a business survey showed on Thursday.

Producer price index also down 1.3%; full-year CPI expected to be around 2%China's inflation eased to a seven-month low in October, signaling subdued price pressure in the fourth quarter and providing room for macroeconomic policies to beef up support for domestic demand, experts said on Wednesday.

Experts said the falling CPI and PPI readings have painted a picture of subdued inflationary pressure in China while many major economies, such as the United States and the eurozone, are still raising interest rates to curb lingering high inflation.

Unless some of these adverse factors are alleviated, inbound and outbound M&A transactions will remain subdued in the second half of the year.

With limited pass-through of factory-gate inflation and energy prices on consumer prices and subdued core inflation due to weak domestic demand, Wu said his team expects China's consumer inflation to remain below the 3 percent target for 2022.

With the limited impact of factory-gate inflation and energy prices on consumer prices and subdued core inflation due to weak domestic demand, Tommy Wu, lead economist at the Oxford Economics think tank, said his team expects China's consumer inflation to remain below the annual target of around 3 percent in 2022.

"With policies to coordinate pandemic control with economic and social development taking effect, the COVID-19 impact is expected to subdue gradually," Sheng said, citing positive signals already seen in power generation and consumption data.

Currently, consumer demand, especially consumption in brick-and-mortar shops, is indeed quite subdued.

Moreover, cross-border M&A deals are expected to remain subdued this year unless there is a relaxation of COVID-19-related travel restrictions, he added.

Pass-through to consumer prices remains low amid strong competition and subdued consumption.

In addition, the pass-through effect of rising power prices on downstream producers and consumers could remain subdued amid low market concentration and sluggish consumer demand, which could pose additional margin pressures for some downstream producers, although strong external demand may provide some relief, Xing said.

Experts said a subdued consumer inflation level also offers the space for China to increase monetary support.

Growth in infrastructure investment remained subdued and came in at 2.9 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of the year, compared with 8.9 percent for total fixed-asset investment, NBS data showed.

Meanwhile, the CPI reading remained subdued amid dropping food prices led by pork, as well as domestic COVID-19 cases that dented demand for travel, the bureau said.

Their comments came after China reported the weakest reading for manufacturing activities since the initial wave of COVID-19 in February 2020, due to a combination of the spread of the Delta variant, heavy rains, softening market demand, and energy-intensive sectors that stayed subdued in August.

The price hike in certain industries including steel and non-ferrous metals was subdued, as their prices turned from rising to falling in June.

But the recovery in consumption and the services sector remained subdued in January, underlining the necessity of more structural policy support and making any sharp tightening in monetary policy unlikely, they said.

A recovery, however, will likely be subdued, unless policy makers move decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms, the World Bank cautioned, as COVID-19 has continued to spread, with sharp resurgences in many regions.

"While the global economy appears to have entered a subdued recovery, policymakers face formidable challenges—in public health, debt management, budget policies, central banking and structural reforms—as they try to ensure that this still fragile global recovery gains traction and sets a foundation for robust growth," said World Bank Group President David Malpass.

China's consumer price index posted the first year-on-year drop in 11 years last month, as pork prices declined while nonfood prices remained subdued, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

Core inflation is expected to remain subdued, leaving CPI inflation in 2021 below the pre-crisis target of about 3 percent.

But the East Asia and Pacific region's economy is heavily dependent on the rest of the world, and global demand remains subdued.

"The new figures of both property sales and investment show that currently, property developers are still focusing on completing and delivering overdue housing projects, and new construction investment remains subdued," said Liu Lijie, a market analyst from the Beike Research Institute.

"In our view, given the government's focus on reining in financial risks in the sector, the growth in real estate investment will remain more subdued this year," said Chowdhury.

Coupled with government restrictions due to new COVID-19 cases, such as curbs on interregional travel and discouraging public gatherings, activity was subdued in some offline services, said Xin.

Home prices in the top-tier cities will stabilize further on the back of the tightening macroeconomic policies, market expectations and subdued demand for new homes in the next few months, said Xu.

CNOOC said it has lowered its annual plans for both capital expenditure and production this year to mitigate the impact of subdued oil prices, down 11 percent than planned, mostly in overseas investment.

I wanted to prepare something romantic for my girlfriend on the special date to show her my love," he said, adding that a short trip was the perfect choice because the COVID-19 pandemic had been subdued in China.

Brett Hartley, the assistant to the CEO of the online real estate platform Beike Zhaofang, told CGTN that prices might rebound slightly in the short term, but in the long run, rental prices in first-tier cities are expected to remain subdued.

China's real estate sales are expected to revive after COVID-19 is subdued.

But contrary to general perceptions, we can find examples from both China and the United States that a slowdown in income growth may not necessarily lead to subdued home sales.

Employment in the services sector also remained subdued as most surveyed companies expressed caution about expanding hiring, citing considerations over "cutting costs and improving efficiency".

Even as the pandemic has the rest of the world in its tentacles, it is relenting, and almost subdued, in China where several prevention and control measures appear to be paying off.

Wuhan is also going to restart civil aviation services as the virus outbreak continues to subdue.

- After a short hiatus in business due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Yiwu International Trade Market, the world's leading small commodities market, has sprung back to life as the epidemic has been subdued in China.

Wu Chaoming, chief economist with Chasing Securities, said the rapid recovery in property sales will also keep default risks subdued.

China's poultry exports to the EU had been subdued for years, as the EU refused to offer significant low-tariff quotas for Chinese poultry meat after outbreaks of bird flu in Asia between 2006 and 2008.

It also found that business confidence remained relatively subdued across China in April amid concerns over the strength of the global economy.

Deeper China-United States cooperation in technology is the key to stabilizing global industrial and supply chains, and driving the recovery of the global economy amid challenges such as subdued investment sentiment and lackluster demand, company executives and experts said.

High interest rates and a subdued market are putting customers off, they warned, with Volkswagen's EV order intake half of what it was in 2022.

"The strong recovery is likely to continue into the third quarter of 2022 from a subdued level a year ago due to severe microchip shortages," the report stated.

The country's recent lackluster housing market will subdue the consumer demand for pickup trucks, the association said, adding that the pickup truck sales will be under pressure.

However, the trend is still subdued, pointing to a lack of consumption confidence, Chen said, adding China's automotive industry will maintain stable development.

The move ran counter to market anticipations that the PBOC may implement an interest rate cut on Monday after the country's weak inflation data pointed to the need for easing policies to bolster subdued demand.

Attractive valuations, improving corporate earnings amid stepped-up policy support and the potential for subdued investor sentiment to recover have all suggested room for a rally, they said.

In 2024, China's economy is expected to grow by 4.6 percent, up from the previous forecast of 4.2 percent, yet continuing weakness in the property market and subdued external demand may weigh on growth, Gopinath added.