SCIO press conference on commerce work, operations in H1 2023
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 7, 2023
Phoenix TV:
In recent years, the scale of China's foreign investment has continued to rise, but the actual amount of foreign investment used in the first half of this year has decreased. What's your opinion about that? Thank you.
Zhu Bing:
Thank you for your attention to foreign investment data. In recent years, MOFCOM has implemented the policy decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. We have worked with local governments and other departments to ensure stable performance in foreign investment. We have achieved continuous expansion of the scale of foreign investment in China, with the investment structure having been improved continuously. These efforts have positively contributed to promoting economic and social development and building a new development pattern. In 2022, despite a 12% decline in global transnational investment, foreign investment in China grew by 6.3%. China's actual use of foreign investment hit a record high, reaching 1.2 trillion yuan ($189.13 billion), representing an increase of 8% and ranking second globally. Since the beginning of this year, the world economy's recovery has slowed, and global transnational investment has been sluggish. The recent UNCTAD World Investment Report 2023 shows that global foreign direct investment continues to face downward pressure this year due to multiple factors. Given this impact, compounded by the high base in the same period of 2022, the actual use of foreign capital in China in the first half of this year showed a slight year-on-year decline of 2.7%, but the overall scale remained stable.
We believe that the short-term fluctuation will not affect the continued optimism of foreign investors in China's growth, and the overall trend of expanding investment in China has not changed. Recently, we've observed a continuous stream of visits to China by senior executives from multinational companies. Their aim is to conduct comprehensive, in-depth assessments of China's business environment and to explore new opportunities for investment and cooperation. Multinationals widely agree that the Chinese market, which contains enormous development opportunities, is not an "option" but a "must." They will continue to increase investment in China and explore the Chinese market. As Ms. Guo just mentioned, in the first half of this year, the number of new foreign-invested enterprises in the country increased by 35.7% year on year, which also fully proves this point.
We believe that with the concerted efforts of all parties, the effects of foreign investment policies and measures will gradually emerge. With an improved business environment, China will remain a favored foreign investment and business destination. Thank you!
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