Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China faces “unprecedented difficulties” after falling for eight months, the longest stretch of declines this decade, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Chen Jian (陳健) said.
The government will announce policies to stabilize investment “soon,” Chen said at a briefing in Beijing yesterday.
Multinationals have reduced spending as they grapple with the global crisis, adding to drags on growth in the world’s third-biggest economy after exports collapsed.
Direct investment in China slid 17.8 percent to US$6.38 billion in May from a year earlier. The latest data also showed that China received US$34.05 billion in foreign investment in the first five months of the year, down 20.4 percent from the same period a year ago.
Chen said the planned policies to stabilize foreign investment would focus on projects that would help create jobs, save energy and protect the environment.
“We will continue to work on the creation of a stable and transparent policy environment, level and open market conditions, and regulated and efficient administrative services for foreign investment,” he said.
Chen said Beijing may allow foreign firms with investments in China to list domestically, as part of efforts to boost trader confidence during the global downturn.
“We will continue to actively work with relevant authorities to study and complete the policy of allowing foreign-invested companies to list in the country,” he said. “We will guide high-quality foreign-invested companies to carry out domestic listings at appropriate times,” he said.
However, Chen said there would be no change to an order announced last month stating domestic firms should be prioritized in bids for projects that are part of a US$585 billion stimulus package unveiled last year.
“The problem now is not that we are protecting [Chinese companies], but that there are signs that domestic products are discriminated against. We just want an impartial environment,” he said.
Foreign-invested businesses account for 30 percent of industrial output, 55 percent of trade and 11 percent of urban jobs, the commerce ministry said.
Foreign direct investment in China totaled US$876 billion at the end of last year, while China invested US$170 billion overseas, a report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics said.
Last year, the nation attracted a record US$92.4 billion, excluding the financial sector.
China’s direct investment abroad also fell in the first half of this year, the official said, adding that the government would use fiscal, financial, foreign-exchange and insurance polices to encourage larger outbound flows.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from