Employees work at a workshop of a science and technology company in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 16, 2022. (Photo by Fang Dongxu/Xinhua)
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Thanks to the implementation of China's pro-foreign investment measures and the support from local governments, Wacker Chemie's expansion projects have been progressed very efficiently, said Hu Wentao, president of Wacker China.
Chinese market remains a magnet for foreign investors as the first month of this year saw the number of newly-established foreign-funded firms up over 70 percent year on year.
-- Steady expansion
According to Hu, Wacker Chemie AG, a leading German chemical company, has continuously increased its investment in China in recent years.
It completed the capacity expansion for vinyl-acetate-ethylene copolymer dispersion and VAE dispersible polymer powders at its production base in Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, in September last year, with an investment of around 100 million U.S. dollars.
Hu said that the capacity of its Nanjing base has been doubled since expansion to meet with the growing demand of China's booming construction sector for high-quality binders.
After its successful expansion in Nanjing, the company announced another investment of around 150 million euros (about 162 million U.S. dollars) to build a new downstream production line for high-performance specialty silicone at its Zhangjiagang base in Jiangsu, which is now under construction.
Wacker Chemie's strong commitment to Chinese market has been bolstered by the launch of China's pro-foreign investment measures.
-- Policy-driven optimism
In August last year, China's State Council issued guidelines regarding further optimizing the foreign investment environment and intensifying efforts to attract foreign investments, which include 24 specific measures. The guidelines are welcomed by foreign-funded enterprises.
Hu described the 24 measures as unprecedented, saying that the guidelines focus on guaranteeing the national treatment of foreign-invested enterprises and strengthening the protection of foreign investment, which have boosted foreign investors' confidence in China.
"China also supports foreign investors to set up research and development (R&D) center in the country, according to the guidelines, which encourages us to strengthen innovation and R&D in China," he added.
On February 28, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) held a roundtable meeting on the implementation of the 24 pro-foreign investment measures. Representatives of more than 60 foreign-funded enterprises and nine foreign business associations attended the meeting.
At the meeting, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China said that the latest survey shows that the business conditions of Japanese companies in China have improved, and most Japanese companies still regard China as an important market and are generally satisfied with the business environment in China.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China and the Korea Chamber of Commerce in China said that U.S. and South Korean companies in China have stable expectations of investing and operating in China this year.
The MOC data showed that in January, 4,588 new foreign-invested firms were established across the country, up 74.4 percent year on year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland in actual use stood at 112.71 billion yuan (about 15.86 billion U.S. dollars) in January, down 11.7 percent year on year and up 20.4 percent month on month.
"This shows that foreign investment is enthusiastic about coming to China, and that multinationals are still optimistic about the development opportunities of the Chinese market," said an official with the MOC.
-- Concrete implementation
The implementation of these measures needs coordination among various departments and support from local governments.
At the roundtable meeting, various departments including the MOC, the State Taxation Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation and National Immigration Administration briefed on their respective efforts for implementation and promotion of the 24 measures.
He Yadong, spokesperson of the MOC, summarized that more than 60 percent of the measures have been implemented or made positive progress in such a short time.
In the next step, the MOC will continue to promote the implementation of the 24 specific measures, give full play to the role of the roundtable meeting for foreign-funded enterprises, and continue to optimize the business environment, He said.
At a forum held by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) in Beijing recently, Lu Yiqing, a senior manager of government affairs with Knorr-Bremse AG, expressed excitement at the implementation of the 24 specific measures.
"The 24 measures are being transferred from paper into concrete action, which is a very good signal for us and deepens our confidence in further development in China," said Lu.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
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