(Economic Observation) Behind China's "regular" foreign investment absorption
China News Agency, Beijing, August 13 (Reporter Li Xiaoyu) According to the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce of China on the 13th, the actual use of foreign capital in the country from January to July was 535.65 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.5%, and a 1.8% increase from January to June. , From negative growth to positive growth.
In July, the amount of foreign capital actually used nationwide was 63.47 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.8%, and it was the fourth consecutive month to achieve a positive growth in foreign investment in a single month.
At a time when the epidemic continues to spread globally and the flow of people is still subject to considerable restrictions and obstacles, the economic recovery of many countries is slow and the production and operation of enterprises are struggling. China's ability to resume growth in the amount of foreign investment absorbed within a few months can be said to be quite impressive.
It is worth noting that foreign companies have not only failed to move their industrial chains and supply chains out of China, but instead regarded China as a "safe haven." According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, from January to July this year, there were 18,838 newly established foreign companies in China, including 860 newly established companies in China from the United States, 415 from Japan, 849 from South Korea, 584 from Singapore, 296 from the UK, and 245 from Germany.
Under the epidemic, why has China's attractiveness to global investors not decreased but increased?
This is firstly due to China's effective control of the epidemic, and the economy has taken the lead in the world's major economies from falling to rising, stabilizing and improving. Many international organizations predict that this year, China may be the only country in the major economies to achieve economic growth.
China has intensively launched relief policies for foreign companies to help foreign companies in China resume work and production, and they have also strengthened their confidence in investing in China.
Zong Changqing, Director of the Foreign Investment Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that in order to stabilize foreign investment, China has established a sound foreign and foreign investment coordination mechanism, established special classes for key foreign investment projects, and coordinated and promoted relevant departments and localities to provide "one-to-one" services for 4 months. The work class alone took the lead in coordinating and resolving more than 170 issues concerning the resumption of work and production in foreign-funded enterprises and key foreign-funded projects, as well as the coordination of upstream and downstream industries, and the entry of executives and technicians.
"We can ensure that the supply chain is not broken, and the full support of the local government is essential." Schneider Electric said that thanks to the coordination of the Chinese government across provinces, cities, and regions, the company's thousands of suppliers have resumed production and reached production capacity. Three to four weeks earlier than the market as a whole.
In addition, China's comprehensive advantages in industrial facilities, human resources, and infrastructure have also made foreign companies "cannot give up."
Schneider Electric stated that it is easier to find suppliers with good quality, fast response and competitive prices in China than in any other region in the world. Wan Lifan, chairman of ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co., Ltd., also said that the company chose Huizhou Daya Bay for investment because it has good infrastructure and public facilities, as well as a good business environment, transparency and clarity. Policies and regulations.
Although the results are better than expected, considering that the world economy has been severely impacted by the epidemic, the future situation of China's absorption of foreign capital is still not optimistic.
Zong Changqing said frankly that at present, the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still spreading globally, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, anti-globalization is resurgence, the world economy and the external environment are unstable and uncertain, and the survival and development of foreign companies are also facing A lot of difficulties and pressure. Compared with the past, the situation of stabilizing foreign investment is more complicated and severe.
A few days ago, the General Office of the State Council has issued the "Opinions on Further Doing a Good Job in Stabilizing Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment," and proposed a series of new measures to stabilize foreign investment, including financial support to key foreign-funded enterprises, and the special quota for re-lending and rediscounting is equally applicable to foreign-funded enterprises; Lower the threshold for foreign-funded R&D centers to enjoy preferential policies, and encourage foreign businessmen to invest in China to establish R&D centers.
Zong Changqing said that in the future, efforts will be made to solve the problems of financing difficulties, personnel entry difficulties, and project implementation difficulties reported by foreign-funded enterprises, while continuing to study and introduce more support policies. In addition, China will strengthen the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of foreign businessmen to ensure that domestic and foreign enterprises are treated equally and all preferential policies are equally applicable.
Under this circumstance, it is reasonable to expect that China will have stronger "magnetism" for investors. (Finish)