They represent those bucking the trend – bold multinationals braving mounting complexities and vowing to ramp up investments in China, even as the prevailing sentiment among foreign firms is to wait and see amid a worrisome trade environment.

On Tuesday, Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, made inroads into Shanghai with the signing of a 14.6 billion yuan (US$2 billion) deal for a plant to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) under its Lexus marque in the Chinese megacity.

This is one of the largest new foreign investments announced in China since US President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of tariffs.

The investment is being hailed as a vote of confidence in China at a time when intensifying tariff headwinds complicate foreign firms’ investment decision-making in the world’s second-largest economy. And it comes amid reports that the US has been pressuring trade partners to limit trade with Beijing, in exchange for tariff exemptions.

The Japanese auto giant also signed a 236 million yuan deal last week with a partner in Sichuan for a hydrogen fuel cell joint venture.

Nissan, another Japanese carmaker, unveiled a plan at the Shanghai Auto Show to export EVs assembled in China to several overseas markets, even with tariffs and uncertainty roiling global trade.