Responding to the proposal put forward by the country's 16 foreign-investment promotion agencies, 41 such agencies from 27 municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions participated in the organization and attended the first annual meeting held this week.

"The establishment of such an organization will help local foreign-investment promotion agencies become familiar with international principles," said Ma Xiuhong, vice-minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation (MOFTEC).

The organization can carry out professional studies depending on each agency's own resources and promote co-operation among members, who can create a united force for China to upgrade its investment promotion sector.

According to official statistics, the global flow of FDI (foreign direct investment) dropped 40 per cent last year to US$760 billion compared with US$1.3 trillion the previous year.

And due to the global economic slowdown, experts said, it is not expected to witness a swift surge this year.

However, in the first two months of this year, China approved 3,963 foreign-funded companies with contractual and actual investments of US$11.4 billion and US$5.9 billion respectively, up 23.7 per cent and 24.4 per cent respectively compared with the same period last year.

"This is due to China's rapid economic development, which enhanced investors' confidence, and the ever-improving investment environment," Ma said.

"Although the statistics look optimistic, the gaps among various places still exist," said Zhao Dujiang, director of the General Office of the Beijing Foreign Investment Service Centre.

"The key functions for the new organization are helping the local agencies standardize and optimize their management system to be in line with the international practice, and in the meantime, making full use of each other's own advantages," Zhao said.

(China Daily March 15, 2002)