— Positive growth of foreign capital absorption in three consecutive months

Entering 2013, China's absorption of foreign capitals is stable and gradually rebounding. Statistics show that from January to April, the actual use of foreign capital around the country reached $38.34 billion, up 1.21 percent over the same period last year. In April, the actual use of foreign capital amounted to $8.44 billion, up 0.4 percent year on year (without covering the banking, securities and insurance areas), realizing a positive growth in three successive months.

According to surveys by authoritative international institutions like United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, China has always been one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investment. China's foreign capital absorption maintained a positive growth in February, March and April. From January to April, it increased by 1.21 percent over the same period last year. This is, to a large extent, a testimony to the strong competitiveness of the Chinese economy and also international investor recognition of China's investment environment.

Shen Danyang, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that due to sluggish global economic recovery and a small amount of transnational investment on the whole, China's absorption of foreign capitals is undergoing a slight fluctuation, having seen a slight decline in foreign investment last year. However, compared with other countries, China's use of foreign capital has maintained stable growth, with this year witnessing a slight rebound in foreign investment.

To absorb foreign capital is an important part of China's basic state policy of opening up to the outside world. By now, more than 190 countries and regions have invested in China, and the number of foreign enterprises has surpassed 285,000. Of the world's top 500 transnational corporations, 480 have investments or business operations in China. China's absorption of foreign capital has ranked at the top of the developing country list for more than 20 years.

Shen Danyang said, when it comes to the utilization of foreign capital, we should not only pay attention to the amount, but also to quality. Based on the current situation, China's utilization of foreign capital maintains good momentum in raising comprehensive advantages and overall efficiency.

The industrial structure is further optimized. The actual use of foreign capital in the areas of telecom facilities, computers and other electronic facility manufacturing increased by 12.8 percent in the first quarter, while that for transport jumped by 29.33 percent and that for special equipment by 5.63 percent. This shows China encourages foreign capital for high-end manufacturing industries.

Among the other industries that are encouraged, in the first quarter, the utilization of foreign capital in the distributive service sector increased by 32.79 percent, in transport by 57.29 percent, and in electric power, gasoline and water production and supply by 146.2 percent. Meanwhile, the actual use of foreign capital in the real estate industry dropped by 6.32 percent compared to the same period last year. This is a positive trend for China's industrial structure. Besides, positive changes have also been made in the composition of regions and countries that provide foreign capital.