During the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), China will
continue to actively and effectively utilize foreign funds, while
taking the initiative to resist and eliminate risks to national
security.
This is stated in the country's program on using foreign funds
in the period, which was just formulated and issued by the National
Development and Reform Commission.
The program promotes a transformation from paying attention to
"quantity" to paying attention to "quality" in utilizing foreign
funds during the period. Emphasis will be placed on importing
advanced technologies and experienced and high-quality managing
intellectuals instead of making up for the shortage of capital and
foreign exchanges.
More attention should be paid to construction of ecological
balance, environment protection, saving and comprehensively
utilizing natural and energy resources, thus integrating
utilization of foreign funds with updating of domestic industrial
structure and raising of the technological level.
Efforts will be focused on direct foreign investment. It is
necessary to encourage foreign funds to take part in reorganization
or transformation of domestic enterprises in such forms as merging,
share-purchasing or re-investment. Except where related to national
security, restrictions on foreign holding companies will be
gradually lifted.
Meanwhile it is necessary to step up the pace of formulating and
promulgating the Anti-Monopoly Law; give further details on the
policies toward those sensitive industries or major enterprises
which are related to the national safety, the national economy and
people's livelihood; improve the industry-access system for foreign
funds; strengthen examination and supervision of the merging cases
which are related to the above-mentioned sensitive industries or
major enterprises and involved in foreign funds so as to secure the
state's control over the development of those strategic industries
and major enterprises; and revise and publish the Law on
Enterprises' Income Taxation that applies to both domestic and
foreign funded enterprises.
Efforts will be made to optimize and upgrade the foreign-funded
industrial structure, encourage foreign investors to make
contributions to the development of China's modern agriculture with
emphasis on development of ecological agriculture and high-tech and
high value-adding farming such as planting, breeding, comprehensive
utilization of agricultural waste, tapping of biological energy,
developing and manufacturing of modern farm machinery and
equipment, deep processing of farm produce, and importing of modern
farming technologies and managing systems.
Foreign businessmen will continue to be encouraged to invest in
such industries as electronic information, petro-chemicals,
chemicals and automobiles. They will be urged to take part in the
reorganization and transformation of the country's traditional
industries including machinery, light industry, textiles, raw
materials, construction and building materials and to invest in
infrastructure facilities and environmentally-friendly projects,
especially ecological and environmental projects in central and
western China. Besides, it is important to actively and steadily
spur service-trade sectors such as banks, insurance, securities,
telecommunications, commerce and freight transport to open wider to
the outside world.
Large multinational companies are encouraged to shift their
high-tech and high-value-adding processing and manufacturing
sectors and their research and development institutions to China,
and to set up production and manufacture bases, auxiliary bases and
training bases so as to bring the effect of technological overflow
into play and enhance Chinese enterprises' own ability to blaze new
trails.
After being admitted into the World Trade Organization, China
entered a new stage featuring comprehensive international economic
cooperation and competition in utilizing foreign funds.
In the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-2005), China actually
used a total of about US$383 billion of foreign funds, 34 percent
more than in the Ninth Five-Year Plan period. The total includes
US$286 billion of direct overseas investment, US$38 billion of
funds raised by Chinese enterprises' listing abroad, and US$46
billion of overseas credit.
With State Council's approval, the program is drafted by the
National Development and Reform Commission after consulting with 40
units at the level of ministries, 11 national industry
associations, provincial governments throughout the country, some
research institutes, enterprises and scholars, according to the
preface of the program.
(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2006)