Amid concerns about China's current economic downturn, foreign investors have expressed confidence in the country's growing market.
Toys R' Us Chief Executive Officer Dave Brandon was among the investors who have expressed their optimism over China's continuing growth as a major global market. According to Brandon, the company plans to open 30 to 40 new stores a year around the country as part of their continuing effort to penetrate the Chinese market.
The toy retail giant marked a decade in China with the opening of its 100th store last month, CRIEnglish reported.
According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, foreign direct investments into the mainland have grown by 6.4 percent last year, bringing in around $125 billion. The biggest portion of the earnings came from the services sector, growing by around 17 percent and accounting for 81 percent of the total.
Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation Deputy Director Xing Houyuan said that increased foreign investments in the services sector are a good indicator of the Chinese market's rising presence in the international scene.
China has also considerably increased its share in the export of technology-related products, an industry report revealed, growing from 9.4 percent in 2000 to 43.7 percent in 2014.
However, other investors have expressed concerns about the current slump being experienced by the market.
Li-Gang Liu, chief china economist for ANZ Blue Notes, said that the manufacturing sector is likely in for a tough year with the weakening global demand for Chinese goods.
He also said that the Chinese government's plans for handling pollution could also impact the sector greatly, Fortune reported.
According to the Caixin/Markit China Manufacturing PMI survey, factory activity in the country has shrunk in the last 11 months. Manufacturing has slipped a few points from 49.7 to 49.4 in January. The privately conducted survey predicted the figure to settle at 49.6. The survey serves as one of the benchmarks for the level of economic activity in the country.