Foreign companies would be well advised to take every opportunity provided by China's economic growth, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli said yesterday.

"Have confidence in China," he told world business leaders in a keynote address to the Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu last night.

"In the next five years, we expect China to import goods and services valued at US$10 trillion, and 10 billion Chinese will travel overseas."

China needs to maintain stable growth, while protecting the environment, he said.

"We must start to address air pollution. We must continue our policy of opening our market wider to the world," he added.

World business leaders attending the three-day forum in the capital of Sichuan Province in southwestern China were eager to hear of policies that might lead to higher returns on their investment in China.

But it is difficult for many businesses to make a fortune in a world where consumers keep changing their spending habits amid rapidly evolving technology. And nowhere is that more true than in China.

"Consumers nowadays don't like being told what to do," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Co.

"They want dialogue that allows them to become engaged with companies and express their own desires."

To that end, Coca-Cola had established branch companies in local markets and encourages two-way dialogue via social networking sites like Facebook, according to Kent.

Yang Yuanqing, Lenovo's chairman and CEO, told the forum that his company, one of China's highest-profile brands overseas, is using technology to integrate computers, mobile phones and television as its strategy to cope with a fast changing world where consumers demand more.

"We find ourselves in a delicate situation again after years of arduous efforts to become No. 1 in PC-making," Yang said.

"People are increasingly using their mobile devices to access the Internet, so we are now merging technologies to create our new business strength."

Robert Iger, chairman and chief executive of Walt Disney, said every brand needs to stick to its core values to attract customers, even as brands adapt to local markets.

"You need to always remember what makes your brand the brand," Iger said. "But also, you need listen to others and adapt to change."

His company is bringing the Disneyland brand, with Chinese characteristics, to Shanghai after 11 years of negotiations and planning, Iger said.

The theme park now under construction in southern Shanghai is due to open in 2015.

Taking the pulse of consumers, especially those in China, was just one of many topics filling rooms and hallways at the forum.

Chengdu is the fourth Chinese city to host the annual conference, bringing together global business leaders, government officials and economists under this year's theme of "China's New Future."

The choice of Chengdu as host city reflects the government's policy of shifting economic development and urbanization to more underdeveloped western and inland regions, away from the crowded eastern seaboard.

Among the corporate heavyweights attending this year's forum are executives from multinational companies such as DuPont, JPMorgan Chase, Amway and Dell.

They are meeting with Chinese business leaders who include executives from Internet search giant Baidu, Geely, the domestic automaker that bought Volvo, and China Railway Group.

Vice Premier Gaoli is the highest-ranking Chinese official attending the forum.

President Xi Jinping, who is visiting the Americas, sent a message of welcome to those attending the conference.