China's development zones attract over 30,000 foreign companies

NANJING -- China's state-level economic and technological development zones have attracted more than 30,000 foreign-funded companies, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

The country currently has 230 such development zones in 31 provincial-level regions, gathering more than 4 million enterprises, the ministry said at an event promoting the state-level economic and technological development zones.

Over 300 Fortune 500 enterprises have established headquarters or research centers in these development zones.

Last year, the state-level economic and technological development zones generated a regional GDP of 15 trillion yuan (about 2.08 trillion U.S. dollars), increasing 117 percent over 2013.

These development zones have become a vital platform for China's economic integration into the global industrial system.

Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce, said at the event that China would consider further reasonably shortening the negative list for foreign investment and strengthening the opening up of modern service industries.

Chen said the country would increase policy support to promote innovation and upgrade state-level economic and technological development zones.

The event, held in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, was co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the government of Jiangsu Province.

As part of the "Invest in China Year" activities, the event invited representatives of international organizations, foreign chambers of commerce, state-level economic and technological development zones, and foreign-funded enterprises to attend dialogues and project-matchmaking meetings.

Focusing on the digital economy, green and low-carbon sectors, and new energy vehicles, the event aims to build a communication platform for foreign-funded enterprises and state-level economic and technological development zones and strengthen investment cooperation.