China News Service, Beijing, March 12 (Xinhua) On March 11, local time, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom responded to reporters' questions about the British media's one-sided interpretation of foreign investment data in China.
A reporter asked: Recently, some British media reported that "China's foreign investment has dropped to a 30-year low." What is the embassy's comment on this?
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the UK said that the British media reports had a one-sided interpretation of relevant Chinese statistics, seriously misleading readers, and exposing the relevant media's unprofessional and imprecise reporting on China-related economics.
I would like to share the following facts:
First, it is normal for global foreign direct investment (FDI) to rise and fall.
In recent years, as the global economy has faced the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, developed economies have tightened and loosened their monetary policies, and the international political situation has become more complex, global FDI fluctuations have increased, rising to a relatively high scale in 2021 and then continuing to fall.
In particular, the Federal Reserve has maintained high interest rates, US dollar financing costs have increased, and multinational companies have shrunk in investment through new capital, reinvestment of earnings, and debt from affiliated companies.
China's foreign direct investment is basically in line with global trends.
Interpretation of relevant data requires comprehensive consideration of its historical base and fluctuations. A decline in data in a certain year cannot simply lead to the conclusion that "foreign capital has fled China."
Second, China’s absorption of foreign investment is still at a historically high level.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, China's actual use of foreign direct investment in 2023 was US$163.3 billion, the third highest in history after 2021 and 2022.
There were 53,766 newly established foreign-invested enterprises across the country, a year-on-year increase of 39.7%.
The investment structure continues to be optimized, with the proportion of investment in high-tech industries reaching 37.4%, a record high.
Foreign businessmen such as France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Switzerland continue to invest more in China, with actual investment in China increasing by 84.1%, 81.0%, 31.5%, and 21.4% respectively in 2023.
Third, China has more significant advantages in attracting foreign investment.
From the perspective of the internal and external environment, the market generally expects that the monetary policies of major developed economies will face adjustments, global liquidity will generally improve as a result of tightening, and international investment will become more active.
China's economy continues to recover and develop for the better, the business environment continues to improve, and foreign investment willingness is expected to further increase.
From the perspective of industrial foundation and domestic demand potential, China is the only country in the world that has all industrial categories. It has strong industrial supporting and integration capabilities and a high-quality labor force, which will provide stronger support for the development of enterprises in China.
China's middle-income group exceeds 400 million, which is a vast market that companies from all over the world cannot ignore.
From the perspective of the structure of attracting foreign investment, in the future, with the continued development of electronic technology, new energy, semiconductors, intelligent technology, etc., these fields are expected to become China's new growth points in attracting foreign investment.
The spokesperson of the embassy emphasized that overall, the fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth have not changed. China is accelerating the development of new productive forces. The door of opening up is opening wider and wider. The value of high-level and institutional opening is getting higher and higher. China has also It will continue to be a hot spot for foreign investment.
We hope that the relevant media will objectively and comprehensively report on China’s economy and not miss opportunities that could backfire on themselves.
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