China issues action plan to promote high-level opening up, attract foreign investment

A drone photo shows a cargo ship docking at Qingdao Port in east China's Shandong Province, March 13, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The General Office of the State Council has issued an action plan to steadily promote high-level opening up and make greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment.

The action plan emphasizes that foreign investment is an important force in helping to achieve Chinese modernization and promoting the common prosperity and development of the Chinese economy and the world economy.

To attract and utilize foreign investment more vigorously, we must fully, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, and create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized first-class business environment that will boost foreign investors' confidence in their ability to develop in China, the action plan states.

The action plan proposes 24 measures across five aspects, including expanding market access, enhancing appeal to foreign investment, fostering a level playing field, facilitating the flow of innovation factors, as well as better aligning domestic rules with high-standard international economic and trade rules.

The country will shorten its negative list for foreign investment reasonably, and launch pilot programs to relax foreign entry thresholds in scientific and technological innovation, according to the document.

Efforts should also focus on expanding access of foreign financial institutions to the banking and insurance sectors and expanding the business scope of foreign financial institutions participating in the domestic bond market, said the plan.

The country also vows to expand the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment and the list of key foreign-funded projects, aiming to provide enhanced policy support for attracting foreign investment, states the plan.

Measures will be taken to support data flow between foreign-funded enterprises and their headquarters, facilitate international business personnel exchanges, and improve the management of work and residence permits for foreign nationals.