BEIJING — China will as always welcome companies from other countries to invest and operate in China, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Aug 5.

Spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a routine press briefing after Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, on Aug 4 expressed confidence of European companies in China's development prospects.

"As a champion and promoter for an open world economy, China has always kept its door wide open and committed to providing a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment for companies from Europe and other parts of the world," Wang said.

By 2019, the European Union had been China's top trade partner for 16 consecutive years, with a total trade volume exceeding $700 billion for the first time last year, he said.

Wang emphasized that companies from Europe and other parts of the world are optimistic about China's economic prospects and improving the business environment.

China will as always welcome European investors and companies from other countries, continue to firmly deepen reform and expand opening-up, and provide more cooperation opportunities and development dividends for their operations in China, Wang said.

"Foreign companies, including European ones, were part of the story of China's development, and we believe they will continue to be part of the successful story of China's development and win-win cooperation," he added.

China remains one of the top three destinations for 63 percent of respondents in a survey conducted earlier this year by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and global consultancy firm Roland Berger.