From January to May, the country absorbed 481 billion yuan of foreign capital, a year-on-year increase of 35.4%——

China's absorption of foreign capital "increases" well (Rui Finance)

  Foreign investment in China is still on the move!

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce released data showing that in the first five months of this year, the actual use of foreign capital across the country increased by 35.4% year-on-year, and it also achieved a 30.3% increase over the same period in 2019.

Experts said that the strong performance of foreign investment shows that foreign investment is still optimistic about China.

Unswerving reform and opening up and vigorous market demand will be China's long-term advantages in attracting foreign investment in the future.

Newly established foreign-invested enterprises increased by 48.6%

  Statistics show that the number of foreign-funded enterprises in China has maintained a substantial growth.

From January to May, 18,497 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established nationwide, an increase of 48.6% year-on-year and an increase of 12.4% year-on-year.

The amount of foreign capital actually used in the same period was 481 billion yuan.

  In terms of different industries, the actual use of foreign capital in the service industry was 381.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.6%.

The actual use of foreign capital in high-tech industries increased by 34.6%, of which high-tech service industries increased by 37.6%, and high-tech manufacturing industries increased by 25%.

  In terms of source, actual investment in countries along the “Belt and Road”, ASEAN, and the EU increased by 54.1%, 56%, and 16.8%, respectively, year-on-year (including investment data through free ports).

  In terms of subregions, the actual use of foreign capital in eastern, central, and western regions of my country increased by 37%, 36%, and 10.4% respectively.

  The “rising” trend of attracting foreign investment is improving, continuing the positive trend since last year.

Last year, global transnational direct investment dropped sharply. China successfully responded to the severe impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. The actual use of foreign capital grew against the trend and became the largest foreign capital inflow country.

The country's actual use of foreign capital was 999.98 billion yuan, an increase of 6.2% year-on-year, and the scale hit a record high.

  "A major feature of this round of foreign investment in China is that it is based on China and faces the Chinese market. Foreign capitals have come to China one after another, indicating that they are optimistic about China's economy, market and consumption." Chen Fengying, a researcher at the China Institute of Modern International Relations, told this reporter. From the perspective of the investment structure, the service industry continues to be the mainstay of attracting foreign investment, and it is also a manifestation of the new phased characteristics of China's economic development. It is synchronized with the transformation and upgrading of China's economic structure. The development of high-end service industries and consumption upgrades are becoming generally favored by the market Direction.

Increasing attractiveness to foreign businessmen

  Since the beginning of this year, there have also been bright spots in attracting foreign investment across the country.

Shanghai added 20 regional headquarters of multinational companies and 7 foreign-invested R&D centers in the first 4 months, reaching 791 and 488 respectively; Jiangsu's large projects with investment of more than 30 million US dollars from January to April increased by 33.7% year-on-year, and the actual use of foreign capital was year-on-year An increase of 41.2%; Hainan’s newly established foreign-funded enterprises and actual use of foreign capital in the first April have both quadrupled year-on-year...

Where does the "magnetism" for attracting capital come from?

  Chen Fengying believes that on the one hand, the recovery of the world economy is the background, and economic and trade activities such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions have been resuming since the second half of last year; on the other hand, China’s positive effects in fighting the epidemic and resuming work and production have played a huge role. Unique advantages allow foreign businessmen to invest and produce smoothly at critical moments, have a stable market, and form stable expectations.

In addition, in the context of the global epidemic, China has unswervingly promoted reform and opening up, the business environment has continued to improve, and its attraction to foreign businesses has also continued to increase.

  The latest Global Economic Outlook report released by the OECD recently predicts that China’s economy will maintain a steady pace of recovery. The economic growth rate in 2021 and 2022 is expected to reach 8.5% and 5.8%, both higher than the previous forecast. Higher than the global growth level.

Earlier, the International Monetary Fund also issued the "World Economic Outlook Report", which raised China's 2021 economic growth forecast by 0.3 percentage points to 8.4%.

  OECD experts said that thanks to the effective control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the accelerated opening of many industries, China's economy has quickly resumed growth, and China has therefore become a more realistic destination for global foreign direct investment. China has good growth prospects and further opening up measures. It will help China continue to attract foreign capital inflows.

Stabilize the total volume, optimize the structure, and improve the quality

  Multinational company leaders’ summits, national ministries and commissions’ representatives face-to-face with representatives of multinational companies, and multi-national investment promotion fairs have been held... Since the beginning of this year, multinational companies have continued to maintain frequent interactions with various localities and departments.

  In fact, in the face of the sudden epidemic since last year, in order to minimize the impact of the epidemic on the operations of multinational companies in China, relevant departments have adopted a series of measures to help companies solve difficulties and further open up.

  Qian Keming, Vice Minister of Commerce, previously introduced that a series of measures include actively implementing the "Foreign Investment Law" and its implementation regulations, completely canceling the approval and filing of the establishment and change of foreign-funded enterprises by the commerce department; revising and issuing new versions of the national and free trade pilot zones. To further relax the entry threshold for foreign investment; publish the "Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment (2020 Edition)" to expand the scope of encouraging foreign investment; introduce a series of supporting documents to stabilize foreign investment to hedge against the adverse impact of the epidemic.

  "The use of foreign capital this year will focus on stabilizing total volume, optimizing structure, and improving quality." The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce said that more efforts should be made in the business environment to implement the foreign investment law and promote the signing of more high-standard economic and trade agreements.

In addition, it is necessary to improve the pre-entry national treatment plus negative list management system, promote the continuous reduction of foreign investment entry barriers, and strengthen supervision during and after the event.

  Chen Fengying believes that China's large market demand and unwavering reform and opening up will always be China's long-term advantage in attracting foreign investment.

"Looking forward, the international industrial chain and supply chain may face adjustments, but China's attraction to foreign capital is still there, and the absorption of foreign capital in the future will continue to show bright spots." Chen Fengying said.

  Li Jie