Better business environment benefits all
A1 China has made remarkable improvements to people's lives. The poverty rate has dropped to around 3 percent; the national pension scheme covers more than 900 million people; and basic medical insurance covers 1.35 billion people, in what is now the largest social security network in the world.
Microsoft has been on the Chinese mainland for more than 26 years. We're taking a long view on China. Since Bill Gates opened our research facility in Beijing in 1998, it has become our largest research and development operation outside the United States.
When President Xi Jinping visited our Redmond campus in 2015, we were honored that he spoke so highly of our contributions to China's development and to the development of China's software and IT sectors. Our business in China today continues to be focused on empowering Chinese people and organizations to transform and thrive in the new era.
A2 China's view on how innovation-driven development applies to technology aligns well with Microsoft's view on digital transformation. In this new digital world, cloud computing will form the foundation on which organizations of all sizes will create their digital futures. Microsoft, as the first multinational company to offer public cloud services in China, is uniquely positioned to help people and organizations in China to transform, to thrive and to grow their businesses globally.
A3 We appreciate the Chinese government's efforts to unify the legal framework for foreign investment administration, as well as its commitment to further promoting the stable development of foreign investment in China. China is one of the most exciting growth markets in the world for Microsoft. We are encouraged by the efforts of the Chinese government to further open up, and we look forward to continuing to empower Chinese people and organizations to achieve more in this more open environment.
A4 I have a great deal of confidence in Microsoft's business prospects in China. The Chinese government has embraced digital transformation like few other nations in the world. Chinese enterprises across almost every industry recognize the value of digital transformation and are looking for partners to help them move forward. Microsoft is uniquely positioned to be the technology partner of choice, and we are already helping Chinese organizations across sectors to achieve their transformation goals.
A5 These efforts are encouraging and we believe that our technologies and platforms such as Office 365, Dynamics 365 and the depth and breadth of our offerings could play a role to facilitate that. For example, for the past few years at the China Development Forum, we have provided surface devices loaded with Office 365 productivity solutions to help every participant have a great conference experience.
