Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecom equipment supplier, is the most authentic brand in China, according to a report by New York-based communications agency Cohn&Wolfe.

The privately held maker of networking systems and smartphones climbed from fourth last year to unseat the Bank of China (BOC) at the top of the China rankings in Cohn&Wolfe’s fifth Authentic Brands Study, an annual consumer survey in 15 markets around the world on the role of authenticity in business. It marks a big leap for Shenzhen-based Huawei in terms of raising the domestic and global awareness for its brand.

It recently placed 49th in this year’s BrandZ study of the most valuable global brands, an annual survey conducted by British multinational advertising company WPP and market research firm Kantar Millward Brown. Matt Stafford, Asia-Pacific President at Cohn&Wolfe, said that the company’s own study showed “consumers value authenticity and will reward brands that work on being reliable, respectful and real – the three main drivers of brand authenticity”. In China, 68% of consumers indicated higher purchase intent with brands they perceive to be authentic. The global average is 62%, according to Cohn&Wolfe.

It said consumers in Asian countries displayed the most positive sentiments towards brand authenticity, with 43% of consumers in China and 37% in India perceiving brands to be “open and honest”, compared to a global average of 22%.

Huawei, which recorded CNY521.6 billion in revenue last year, is best known to consumers through its range of smartphones, led by its flagship Mate and popular Honor models. The company recently captured the second spot for global smartphone shipments for the first time in June and July, moving ahead of Apple, according to Counterpoint.

The other companies that made it to the top 10 most authentic brands in China were personal computer maker HP, Bank of China, Intel, Haier, Visa, Tong Ren Tang, Siemens, Lenovo Group and Gree Electric. The Cohn&Wolfe survey’s global top 10 consist of Amazon.com, Apple, Microsoft, Google, PayPal, Adidas, Intel, Lego, BMW and HP, the South China Morning Post reports.

Shanghai authorities have rolled out new measures to woo foreign-funded research and development (R&D) centers to the city as part of efforts to transform it into a global technological innovation hub by 2030. According to the 15-article policy, recently approved by the Shanghai municipal government, high-level foreign R&D centers in Shanghai will be granted the same privileges as regional headquarters of multinational companies. “That is to say, such R&D centers will obtain policy and financial support from the local government and enjoy more simplified services in terms of entry and exit procedures, talent introduction and customs clearance,” Shang Yuying, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, told a media briefing.

“It is the first time that foreign R&D centers are getting such policy support in China. We hope to attract more global R&D centers of multinational companies that are at the highest level within the company and carry the function of allocating R&D resources around the globe,” she said.

Currently there are 416 foreign R&D centers in Shanghai, which accounts for one-fourth of the total in China. About 20 of them invest over USD10 million annually and have more than 40,000 Chinese R&D staff, according to the Commission. Several innovative global products have originated from these centers. According to Shang, 22 products from the Shanghai-based China R&D Center of U.S.-based medical device manufacturer Medtronic have entered the market since its establishment five years ago, with 17 of them targeting mainly foreign markets.

The new measures also include preferential policies for foreign employees of these centers to have easier access to services and less processing time to obtain work permits. “Qualified expats will be given multiple entry visas valid for five to 10 years and provided with more sophisticated social services, including medical, health services and children’s schooling,” said Yang Chao, Deputy Director of the Commission, as reported by the China Daily.

China could loosen foreign ownership caps for joint ventures in certain industry sectors where Chinese companies already possess a competitive edge as part of a wider opening up of the world’s second-largest economy during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing next month, experts say.

“This is an area that the U.S. and others have raised with China again and again, and it’s possible that China may be open to concessions” when Trump visits, Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Washington-based Center for Security and International Studies, said at an event organized by the Council on Foreign Relations. Foreign ownership caps in China vary across different industries, with some at 49%, 50% or 20%.

U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Beijing on November 8 and 9. His administration has been pressing China to further open market access and provide reciprocal treatment to U.S. companies in China. The world’s two largest economies appeared on the verge of a trade war in July after failing to reach agreement in Washington during the first round of the U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue. However, investment caps on some types of foreign securities companies appear to have been removed, and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) also has decided to lift restrictions on foreign investment in the transport sector and in unconventional oil and gas production.

Government researchers also said that China should do more to protect intellectual property rights and create a level playing field for foreign companies to lure investment from overseas in the coming years. Speaking at a forum organized by a state think tank in Beijing, they said the authorities were aware that long-term capital inflows had stagnated and that there were more and more complaints from the foreign business community about difficulties they had encountered in China.

Despite promises from Beijing to further open up this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) lists China as one of the most restricted markets globally. China still applies restrictions and bans on foreign investment across 65 sectors.

China’s outbound merger and acquisition (M&A) activities cooled off in the third quarter as tightened investment scrutiny from Beijing and Washington continue to take effect. Chinese companies recorded outbound M&A deals worth US$95.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2017, slumping 35% from the same period last year, according to a Mergermarket report.

China stepped up controls over capital outflow last November amid a buying spree of overseas assets among Chinese firms, who overtook their American counterparts and became the world’s top buyer of global assets last year. Beijing has cracked down on overseas investments by aggressive deal making conglomerates, including Anbang Insurance Group, Dalian Wanda Group, Fosun International, and HNA Group.

The controls have led to a rebound in the country’s foreign exchange reserves to an 11-month high of USD3.1 trillion at the end of September, after falling below the psychologically significant USD3 trillion level in February. Apart from Beijing’s crackdown, stricter inspection of Chinese investments by the U.S. government has also dampened transactions, the report said.

Zhong Shan, China’s Minister of Commerce, also confirmed that the Chinese government still encourages its enterprises to go global, after recent regulatory changes sparked concerns over the potential end of China’s acquisition binge abroad. “There have been some structural changes in Chinese firms’ foreign investments, including a shift to buying more hi-tech and capital-intensive companies in developed economies,” he said. Chinese companies’ total overseas assets have grown to USD6 trillion to date, Zhong said. China’s CNY2.1 trillion national pension fund is also seeking more overseas investment opportunities to diversify its risks, Chairman Lou Jiwei told the South China Morning Post. The overseas portfolio of the fund, mainly stocks and bonds, only accounted for 10% of the total, while the government cap was set at 20%.

China’s commercial banks have begun asking clients to submit “proof of use” for consumer loans, as the government tightens regulations on concern that such loans are being used to buy property and are helping to fuel a property bubble.

Customers of China Merchants Bank (CMB) with loans upwards of CNY10,000 are being requested by text messages to submit proof of use. Media reports said customers of some banks are required to prove that loans were not being used inappropriately. Household short-term loans soared in the third quarter by CNY1.53 trillion, almost three times more than a year ago, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

“I am afraid a considerable part of consumer loans has flown into the property market,” said ING Economist Iris Pang. “If you look at the structure of the consumer loans on the mainland, you will find it strange because a lot of them have extremely long loan tenures, like 10 to 20 years. What makes you need 20 years to pay back a consumer loan that enables you to buy a television? It is very likely that the money is spent on houses,” she said.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) announced it would investigate the fast build up of loans in the household sector and said last month that China should “learn from the subprime mortgage crisis in the U.S.”.