‘China has taken several FDI-oriented measures’

The Dollar Business Bureau

China plans to make more efforts to attract foreign direct investments, which has been on a fluctuating trend in the last two years, registering a positive growth of 4.1% year-on-year in 2016 against a decline of 6.4% in 2015.

Addressing a meeting in Beijing, the newly appointed Commerce Minister Zhong Shan on Monday said China will briskly introduce foreign investment and that the Chinese government will intensify efforts to attract foreign investors, “including propelling the development of free trade zones, pushing for reforms in foreign investment management and improving the business environment.”

China has taken several FDI-oriented measures such as opening up more sectors, facilitating foreign investors for their entry into these sectors and lessening restrictive measures to stimulate the inflow of foreign capital.

"FDI management has taken a major leap from case-by-case approval to negative-list management. International business interactions also have been accelerated by national economic and technology development zones and economic cooperation areas along the borders in Jilin and Yunnan provinces," he said.

Last year, China amended its foreign investment laws and introduced several new measures to ease the regulatory approval process for international companies.

Zhong also hoped that these foreign-funded companies will play a transformative role in boosting the country’s sluggish economic growth.

Foreign companies accounted for almost 50% of Chinese foreign trade, nearly 20% of its corporate tax incomes and close to seventh part of urban jobs in the past four years. China is witnessing heavy competition from other major countries in attracting foreign capitals.

Zhong has replaced the outgoing Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng last week.

China received $489.42 billion in foreign capitals over the past four years, while FDI from high-tech companies grew 11.7% annually from 2013 to 2016.