CNBC:

I have two questions. The first question is, what achievements have been made in terms of foreign investment in the effort to promote high-quality development, and what will be your focuses in the future? My second question is, as the unemployment rate among young people continues to grow higher, people worry that the Chinese economy may come to a halt. What measures are being used to improve the employment of young people and prevent the economy from stagnating in a bid to promote high-quality development? Thank you.

Zhao Chenxin:

Let us invite Mr. Su and Mr. Yang to answer these two questions, respectively. 

Su Wei:

I will answer the question about foreign investment. During the past 10 years, China has unswervingly expanded its opening up and scored significant achievements in utilizing foreign investment. First, utilized foreign investment has increased steadily. China has ranked first among developing countries in attracting foreign investment. China's actual utilized foreign investment in 2021 stood at 1.15 trillion yuan, ranking second worldwide, and up 62.9% compared to 2012. Second, laws for foreign investment have been improved. Coming into effect in 2020, the Foreign Investment Law upholds the basic principle of opening up and stipulates the basic institutions for promoting, protecting, and governing foreign investment. It has provided an all-around and powerful legal guarantee for protecting the rights and interests of foreign investors, reflecting a high-standard opening up. Third, the level of opening up has seen marked improvement. We have shortened the negative list for foreign investment for five consecutive years from 2017 to 2021. The number of restrictive measures nationwide and in pilot free trade zones have been cut to 31 and 27 respectively in 2021. We have introduced a series of major measures to open up manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and finance sectors and attracted more foreign-funded companies to do business in China. Fourth, the environment for foreign investment has been improved. We have conducted a review of laws, regulations, and normative documents that do not conform to the Foreign Investment Law for three years straight. By enacting, revising, and repealing a total of 500 documents, we have guaranteed that foreign-invested companies enjoy fair competition. As one of the largest and fastest-growing markets worldwide, China has a well-organized industry support system, rich human resources, a sound environment for innovation, and unparalleled potential of domestic demand. Foreign-invested companies have been upbeat about China's economic outlook and are willing to deeply integrate into the Chinese market and grow with China's economy. 

Next, the NDRC will continue to implement measures of opening up and stabilizing foreign investment. 

First, we will revise and enlarge the catalog of encouraged industries for foreign investment. In May this year, we issued its draft to solicit opinions and received many suggestions from all areas of society. Now, we are amending and improving the catalog. We will expand the scope of encouraged industries and channel foreign investment into manufacturing, producer services, and other major sectors, as well as into central, western, and northeastern regions.

Second, we will advance major foreign investment projects. The first five batches of foreign investment projects have seen accelerated implementation. Smooth progress has been made in major foreign investment projects like the Sino-Saudi Gulei Ethylene Complex Project in Fujian and the third plant of the BMW Brilliance Automotive in Shenyang. We are identifying the reserves of foreign investment projects in all regions and will release a new batch of major foreign investment projects that can drive development.

Third, we will intensify foreign investment services. We will organize and launch activities to promote international industrial investment and cooperation and build platforms to facilitate the investment of multinational companies and aid local governments to attract investment. We will improve a direct contact mechanism for foreign-invested companies and smooth communication channels, solve the prominent problems companies report in time and meet their reasonable needs, and provide excellent services for foreign-invested companies to expand investment in China.

Fourth, we will improve the environment for foreign investment. We will continue to implement the Foreign Investment Law so that all policies are equally applied to foreign-funded companies to ensure their national treatment. Limitations, except ones on the negative list for foreign investment, will be further removed and protection of intellectual property rights will be strengthened. We will continue to build a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment. 

Yang Yinkai:

I will answer the question about the employment of young people. Employment is a social and economic issue. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has been committed to a people-centered philosophy of development, implemented the employment-first strategy, and intensified policies in this regard. In so doing, we have made historic achievements in promoting employment. More than 130 million urban jobs have been added in the past 10 years. As a developing country with a population of 1.4 billion, China has achieved relatively full employment. 

Since this year, amid the complex international situation and domestic COVID-19 resurgence, the surveyed urban unemployment rate, especially the unemployment rate of young people, has increased, with young people, including college graduates, facing mounting employment pressure. Since May 2022, positive changes have been seen in employment, as the package of policies to stabilize the economy delivered initial results and relevant policies to promote youth employment and entrepreneurship were implemented.

Next, we will fully implement the decisions and plans of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, continue to intensify macro policy adjustments to promote employment, adopt detailed and effective measures for an employment-first policy, make every effort to expand market-oriented and socialized employment channels, and make efforts to boost the employment of young people, including college graduates.

First, we will strengthen the economic foundation of the employment of young people. We should continue to promote the implementation of policies to stabilize the economy and make new engines of growth. We should develop advanced manufacturing, modern service industries, and strategic emerging industries to create more knowledge-based technical jobs to give full play to the intellectual advantages of young people. We should advance rural vitalization on all fronts, promote new urbanization with a focus on county seats, and encourage college graduates to find employment at the primary level in urban and rural areas or start their own businesses in rural areas.

Second, we will promote employment stability and broaden employment channels by keeping the operations of market entities stable. We will implement policies for easing the difficulties of businesses to promote the resumption of full-capacity production of enterprises and enhance employment in the market. We should guide local governments to implement subsidy policies to support micro, small, or medium-sized enterprises to offer more jobs to college graduates. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that hire a certain amount of college graduates and meet relevant conditions will be favored when allotting bail-out funds or offering discounted loans for technological transformation use. 

Third, we will support young people who pursue innovations and start businesses. We will continue to improve the environment for starting businesses, carry out special actions to stimulate employment through entrepreneurship, give play to the path-finding role of innovation and entrepreneurship demo centers, and encourage college students to actively start businesses and find flexible employment. We should guide local governments to implement relevant policies that support college graduates to start their businesses. About 30% of the space provided by government-invested venture carriers will be free for college graduate entrepreneurs.

Fourth, we will strengthen employment services for young people. We will provide continuous employment services to college graduates and other young people and accelerate the recruitment of local civil servants; public institutions; preschool, primary, and secondary school teachers; and community-level employment projects. We should deepen the integration of vocational education with industries, explore the integration of technical training and industrial production, focus on young people, and launch vocational skills training programs on a large scale. We should give greater employment support for young, urban jobseekers facing difficulties in securing employment.

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