China to introduce more favorable policies for foreign investment: economic planner

BEIJING -- China's economic planner on Wednesday said that stronger policy measures will be rolled out to encourage foreign investment further amid the country's efforts to expand its opening-up.

Building on current policies, China will continue to level the playing field, smooth the flow of innovation factors and promote pragmatic cooperation between domestic and foreign enterprises, Yuan Da, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference.

Negative lists for foreign investment will also be shortened, Yuan said, noting that the economic planner will consider slashing the negative list for foreign investment at the Hainan Free Trade Port.

To promote and provide better services for foreign investors, China will continue to host international industrial investment cooperation activities, improve communication channels for foreign businesses, and respond to problems and reasonable demands of enterprises in a timely manner, according to Yuan.

Official data shows that foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 2.2 percent year on year to 499.46 billion yuan (about 69.79 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of 2023.

In particular, FDI in the manufacturing and high-tech sectors respectively rose 4.1 percent and 12.8 percent from a year ago during the period.

"These foreign-funded projects have helped the country optimize its industrial structure, promote coordinated development across regions, and foster a new development pattern," Yuan said.