General

According to the observation report of Huacheng Import and Export Data, in recent years, the quantity and quality of China's foreign investment have increased. Behind this is China's increasingly optimized business environment and more investment opportunities captured by foreign capital. The government work report proposed that in terms of absorbing and utilizing foreign capital this year, we should expand market access and strengthen the opening of the modern service industry. We will implement national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises. Actively promote the accession to high standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), actively contrast relevant rules, regulations, management and standards, and steadily expand institutional openness. We will continue to play the role of import and export in supporting the economy. Do a good job in the service of foreign-funded enterprises and promote the implementation and construction of foreign-funded landmark projects.

Relevant insiders said that China will continue to optimize its business environment and further relax market access, which will continue to release its market potential. In the coming period, institutional opening will become the main guide to expand opening. Its essence is to further build domestic rules and institutional systems that are connected with high standard international economic and trade rules, and accelerate the formation of an open, competitive and orderly modern market system. Foreign funded enterprises will be able to share more in the process of Chinese path to modernization, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

Recently, many foreign-funded enterprises that have been operating in China for a long time have moved their research and development centers and core production departments to China, further demonstrating the confidence of foreign-funded enterprises in tapping into the Chinese market. At present, in order to accelerate the attraction of incremental foreign capital into China and help the high-quality development of the stock of foreign capital, we must continue to improve the level of factor flow facilitation, optimize investment promotion and services, and effectively respond to the core concerns of foreign enterprises. In response, Jiang Ying, member of the CPPCC National Committee and chairman of Deloitte China, said in an interview with our reporter during the two sessions.

In fact, with China's comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up in the past five years, the number of free trade pilot zones has increased to 21. The number of negative lists in the national and pilot free trade zones was reduced by 51% and 72% respectively. A number of large foreign investment projects have been launched, and China has continued to become a hot spot for foreign investment. According to the observation report of Huacheng Import and Export Data, taking Shanghai, the eastern economic center, as an example, in January 2023, the actual amount of foreign capital used by Shanghai was 2.376 billion US dollars, up 13.3% year on year. By the end of 2022, Shanghai has set up 891 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 531 foreign R&D centers, continuing to maintain the leading position of the most centralized regional headquarters of multinational companies in mainland China.

Since 2018, Shanghai has successively issued five versions of the action plan for optimizing the business environment, and held a city-wide business environment conference for five consecutive years. The Shanghai Action Plan for Strengthening Integrated Innovation and Continuously Optimizing the Business Environment issued in January this year is known as the "Version 6.0" action plan for optimizing the business environment in Shanghai.

"China is speeding up the supply-side structural reform. In order to develop its economy to a higher quality, it is necessary to continue to attract and make good use of foreign capital. Foreign capital can come in and stay. Therefore, it is essential to optimize the business environment and provide more convenient services for business entities." The NPC representative and the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences weighed in during the two sessions and introduced that Shanghai will speed up the construction of the "leading area" in Pudong this year, Promote the construction of science and technology innovation center, and strive to make new and greater contributions to the high-level opening up of the new port area and the high-quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.

According to the latest data of the Ministry of Commerce, against the background of increasing downward pressure on the global economy, China's actual use of foreign capital last year was 1232.68 billion yuan, up 6.3% year-on-year on a comparable basis. In the view of the delegates, this not only reflects the resilience, vitality and potential of China's economy, as well as its strong attraction for foreign investment, but also once again proves that opening up is an important engine for promoting China's economic and social development.

"China has always been an 'activist' in the implementation of high-level opening up, and will encourage foreign investment to dig deep into the Chinese market with a more open and inclusive attitude," Yang Yinkai, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the press conference of the National Development and Reform Office recently. It is reported that in terms of attracting foreign investment this year, we will implement various policies that have been issued, deepen the implementation of several policies and measures to promote the expansion of foreign investment, stabilize the stock and improve the quality of foreign investment with the focus on the manufacturing industry, and the new version of the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment, so as to guide more foreign investment to the advanced manufacturing industry, modern service industry, high-tech, energy conservation and environmental protection and other fields, as well as the central, western and northeast regions.