BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Commerce Wednesday met with representatives from 12 foreign pharmaceuticals firms to learn about their operations in the country as well as their concerns and suggestions.

Representatives from companies, including GE HealthCare, Novo Nordisk, Bayer, and Pfizer, attended the roundtable meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, according to an official statement.

Foreign companies, including those from the pharmaceutical industry, could expect "more development opportunities" as China is advancing Chinese modernization in an all-round manner and unswervingly pushing forward high-standard opening up, Wang said.

The Chinese government has put attracting foreign investment in a more prominent position and continued to optimize the business environment, Wang added.

Through the institutional arrangement of the roundtable, regular meetings will take place to further expand the channels for collecting problems and suggestions from foreign enterprises, addressing their concerns timeously and helping them to develop stably in China, Wang said.

Over the past three years, the commerce ministry has held 17 such seminars for foreign-funded enterprises and made coordinated efforts to solve their problems, according to Wang.

Pharmaceuticals firms that attended the meeting expressed their confidence in the prospect of China's economic development. The enterprises have introduced their operations in China in detail, raised problems faced by the pharmaceutical industry, and put forward 25 specific suggestions, according to the statement.