From January to February, the country's actual use of foreign investment increased by 31.5% year-on-year, and the prospects for attracting foreign investment are optimistic

From January to February, the actual use of foreign capital nationwide increased by 31.5% year-on-year.

　　Optimistic prospects for attracting foreign investment this year

　　Our reporter Feng Qiyu

　　According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce, from January to February 2021, the country's actual use of foreign capital was 176.76 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.5%.

In the same period of last year, due to the dual impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the Spring Festival holiday, companies suspended work and production on a large scale, and investment activities were restricted. The actual use of foreign capital in my country was 134.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.6%.

Comparing the two, the changes are not trivial. How do you treat this “eye-catching” increase that has been rare in recent years?

　　“There are two main reasons for the large increase in foreign investment data in the first two months of 2021.” Nie Pingxiang, a researcher at the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, said in an interview with a reporter from the Economic Daily. On the one hand, the period from January to February 2020 was the epidemic in my country. During the more severe period, this led to a substantial decline in the actual use of foreign capital. “The low base in the same period last year led to the eye-catching growth of foreign capital in my country from January to February this year.”

On the other hand, in 2020, in an environment where the global economy is severely impacted by the epidemic, my country is the first to control the epidemic and resume work and production. It is the only major economy in the world that maintains positive economic growth and has become a safe haven for multinational companies.

In 2021, my country's economic growth will continue to improve. Under the environment where the epidemic in major countries has not been completely controlled, my country's attractiveness to foreign investment will be further strengthened.

This enhancement is reflected in data of different statistical calibers.

　　From an industry perspective, the actual use of foreign capital in the service industry was 141.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 48.7%, accounting for 80.2% of the country's actual use of foreign capital.

Among them, the wholesale and retail industry, accommodation and catering industry, leasing and business service industry increased by 54.1%, 45.6%, and 70.3% respectively.

In terms of source, the actual investment in countries along the “Belt and Road”, ASEAN, and EU increased by 26.2%, 28.1%, and 31.5% respectively year-on-year.

In terms of regional distribution, foreign investment in my country's eastern, central, and western regions increased by 32.3%, 11.1%, and 50.9%, respectively.

　　If you compare the data from January to February this year with the development trend before the epidemic, you can see more changes and characteristics.

Nie Pingxiang believes that, first of all, the proportion of foreign investment in the service industry has continued to increase, especially the wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering, and leasing businesses that have been hit by the epidemic and are closely related to household consumption. This is due to the retaliatory growth of my country's service industry. Opening up and the introduction of relevant measures to promote consumption.

Secondly, the growth rate of foreign investment in the west far exceeds that of the east, which shows that in the process of promoting the formation of a new development pattern, the advantages and potential of the central and western regions in attracting investment have been continuously tapped.

In addition, the countries along the “Belt and Road”, ASEAN, EU and other economies have increased their investment in my country, which shows that my country’s economic and trade relations with related countries have become closer.

　　In 2020, the door of my country's opening up to the outside world is opening wider and wider, and the entries in the national version and the free trade pilot zone version of the negative list of foreign investment access continue to be compressed.

At the same time, the 2020 version of the "Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment" has increased by 127 items compared to the 2019 version.

From one aspect, it can be seen that China is constantly releasing positive signals to attract foreign investment, which enables China to achieve substantial growth in the amount of foreign investment actually utilized in the context of shrinking global investment.

　　Looking ahead to the prospects for foreign investment this year, relevant experts said that although the external situation facing my country in 2021 is still complex and severe, the prospects for foreign investment will be more optimistic.

The main reason is that 2021 is the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan". my country will further accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the main body and the mutual promotion of the domestic and international double cycles; my country will continue to deepen the reform of various fields and various aspects of the system and mechanism. , We will increase institutional opening to the outside world, while continuously optimizing the business environment, so as to provide more opportunities for foreign investment to participate in China's development, share China's opening up large market and development opportunities, and maintain its attraction to foreign investment.