Continuously optimizing the environment for foreign investment in China | foreign-funded enterprises | foreign investment
Relying on the coordination service mechanism for foreign trade and investment, the Ministry of Commerce has recently upgraded the establishment of a roundtable conference system for foreign-funded enterprises. This institutional arrangement demonstrates China's determination and efforts to continuously optimize the business environment, which is of great significance for timely responding to and addressing the concerns of foreign-funded enterprises and helping them achieve long-term stable development in China.
In recent years, facing unfavorable factors such as slowing global economic growth and rising investment protectionism, China has solidly promoted the work of stabilizing foreign investment and continuously optimized the business environment. In 2020, the Ministry of Commerce established a special team for key foreign investment projects under the coordination service mechanism for foreign trade and investment. Over the past three years, it held 17 forums for various types of foreign investment enterprises, fully listened to their demands, and coordinated and solved hundreds of difficult problems. At the same time, we will comprehensively implement the Foreign Investment Law and its implementation regulations, thoroughly clean up provisions that do not comply with the Foreign Investment Law, and promote the revision, abolition, and formulation of over 500 regulatory documents. Compile and update the Guidelines for Foreign Investment in China, continuously improving the marketization, legalization, and internationalization level of the business environment.
At present, China not only continues to expand the scale of investment attraction, but also optimizes the structure and improves the quality of investment attraction, making positive contributions to stabilizing the macroeconomic situation. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released the 2023 World Investment Report, stating that foreign investment entering China increased by 5% in 2022, reaching $189 billion, mostly from European multinational corporations, with investment focused on manufacturing and high-tech industries.
Currently, the world economy is experiencing sluggish growth, but there are still many favorable factors for China to absorb foreign investment. Analysis has pointed out that the fundamental principles of China's economy stabilizing and improving in the long term have not changed. The comprehensive advantages composed of a super large-scale market, a complete industrial system, abundant talent resources, and a continuously optimized business environment continue to strengthen, and foreign investors still have a strong willingness to invest in China.
Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has stabilized and rebounded, and market expectations have accelerated. However, the endogenous driving force is still not strong, and demand is still insufficient. Economic transformation and upgrading are facing new obstacles, and promoting high-quality development still requires overcoming many difficulties and challenges. Therefore, effective measures should continue to be taken to continuously optimize the business environment, and efforts should be made to promote the stable stock, expansion, and quality improvement of foreign investment.
Further optimize the investment environment. Give full play to the complaint mechanism of foreign-funded enterprises, strengthen intellectual property protection, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investment, and implement national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises. Strengthen the role of specialized teams for key foreign-funded projects, carry out regular exchanges, timely help foreign-funded enterprises solve various difficulties, improve the targeted and effective service guarantees, and strengthen the confidence of foreign investment.
Continuously expanding market access. Actively promote the rational reduction of the negative list of foreign investment access, further relax access restrictions, and increase the opening up of the modern service industry. We support pilot projects such as free trade zones, free trade ports, service industry expansion and opening up demonstration pilot projects, and national level economic development zones to take the lead and steadily expand institutional opening up.
Further increase investment attraction and strengthen policy support. By relying on bilateral investment promotion mechanisms and overseas business institutions, we will establish a communication and exchange platform for multinational corporations and local investment promotion, providing convenience for investment negotiations in various regions. Improve supporting measures, ensure that preferential policies are fully enjoyed, and guide foreign investment in advanced manufacturing, modern services, technology research and development, as well as in the central, western, and northeastern regions. Focusing on expanding high-level opening-up to the outside world, we will continue to launch important measures to actively and effectively utilize foreign investment, and create a better environment for the development of foreign enterprises in China.