Visitors queue up at the PepsiCo booth at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
BEIJING, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Foreign-funded enterprises are important participants and active contributors to China's economic development.
With the continuous improvement of China's business environment and the continuous increase of market opportunities, the country will see expanded utilization of foreign investment continuously, said Han Wenxiu, deputy director in charge of routine work of the Office of the Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Rural Work.
A group of multinational corporations have recently sped up their investment in China. For example, the first food production base in northwest China of PepsiCo broke ground in Xi'an, Shaanxi in June this year, with a total investment of about 1.3 billion yuan.
PepsiCo is confident in high-standard opening up of the Chinese market and high-quality development of the Chinese economy, and has continuously accelerated its investment process in China in recent years, CEO of PepsiCo Greater China Anne Tse said.
-- Strong market appeal
The Chinese market is full of attractiveness for foreign-funded enterprises. So, what do multinational corporations value when expanding their investments in China?
Multinational corporations expanding their investments in China value the distinct comparative advantages of the Chinese economy, including the advantages of a super large domestic market and a complete industrial supply system, etc., noted Lyu Yue, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies with the University of International Business and Economics.
On the one hand, China's vast population base and continuously-expanding middle-income group constitute a super large domestic market, providing vast market space for foreign-funded enterprises, said Lyu.
On the other hand, China has the most complete industrial system in the world, covering industries across all categories in the United Nations (UN) industrial classification, which provides strong support for upstream and downstream industries, enhances the industrial self-sufficiency capability, and ensures the stability of the supply chain, further attracting multinational corporations to expand their investment in China, Lyu added.
China's adherence to high-standard opening up and continuously-improved business environment in recent years has also laid a solid foundation for attracting foreign investment. A series of favorable policies and measures have been rolled out in succession, concerning optimizing the environment for foreign investment, promoting high-standard opening up, etc.
In Lyu Yue's view, through top-level design and strategic planning, resources can be directed towards key areas and weak links to further attract foreign investment.
According to data recently released by the Ministry of Commerce, there were nearly 27,000 newly-established foreign-funded enterprises in China in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 14.2 percent, continuing the trend of rapid growth since 2023.
As China continues to expand opening up, a batch of multinational corporations, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will be attracted to invest in China, and the willingness of foreign-funded enterprises to continuously expand investment in China will also provide strong support for high-quality development of the Chinese economy, noted Liu Xiangdong from the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
-- Broader space for foreign investment
China is still a fertile land for investment from different countries, said Han Wenxiu, adding that China will continue to foster a first-rate business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized, and is willing to share with the vast number of foreign-funded enterprises the huge opportunities that China has in developing new quality productive forces and advancing Chinese modernization, and see foreign-funded enterprises grow together with the Chinese economy.
In the recently-issued resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, China proposed to pursue high-standard opening up and made important layouts in promoting high-standard opening up and expanding utilization of foreign investment.
Specific policies and measures include expanding the catalog of encouraged industries for foreign investment, appropriately shortening the negative list for foreign investment, removing all market access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, promoting wider opening with regard to telecommunications, the internet, education, culture, medical services, and other sectors in a well-conceived way, further reforming the institutions and mechanisms for promoting foreign investment, ensuring national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises in terms of access to factors of production, license application, standards setting, and government procurement, etc.
This series of policies and measures will open up a broader space for foreign-funded enterprises to tap into the Chinese market.
In the next stage, Lyu Yue stated, China will continue to adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability to consolidate the foundation of foreign investment, continuously fostering a first-rate business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized for foreign-funded enterprises already in China, making greater efforts to attract foreign investment by expanding market access, facilitating the flow of innovative factors, and aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and shifting from labor-intensive industries to knowledge and technology intensive industries to boost expansion of foreign investment in new technologies, industries, and business formats.
(Edited by Gu Shanshan, gushanshan.1987@163.com)
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