Promoting high-level opening up, attracting foreign capital in 2023 will meet multiple interests

"We need to expand market access and open up the modern service industry more vigorously" "We need to implement national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises" "We need to actively promote the accession to high standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, take the initiative to take photos of relevant rules, regulations, management and standards, and deepen reform in relevant domestic fields" ... The Central Economic Working Conference held a few days ago made a series of arrangements for the absorption and utilization of foreign capital in 2023, emphasizing "greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital".
Experts in the industry said that next year China will face a new situation in absorbing foreign capital, with both opportunities and challenges. The meeting put forward measures in terms of expanding access, optimizing the environment, strengthening services, and focusing on key issues, which not only responded to the concerns of foreign investment, but also focused on promoting high-level opening up in the long run to enhance the long-term confidence of foreign-funded enterprises operating in China.
Make greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital
The meeting made it clear that "greater efforts should be made to attract and utilize foreign capital" when deploying the work of absorbing and utilizing foreign capital in 2023. Experts in the industry believe that this statement not only takes into account the role of foreign capital in China's economic development, but also is related to the current situation faced by China in absorbing foreign capital.
Zhao Ping, Vice President of the Research Institute of CCPIT, analyzed that there are many reasons for China to deploy greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital next year. On the one hand, the use of foreign capital has always been an important part of China's high-level opening up. On the other hand, according to the prediction of the International Monetary Fund, the growth rate of the world economy may be only 3.2% this year, but it may drop to 2.7% next year, and the economic growth in Europe and the United States will be more sluggish. "In this case, investors need to look for good investment opportunities in the world. As the economy continues to recover, the Chinese market will bring more and better investment opportunities to global investors."
Zhang Wei, Vice President of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, told reporters that the Central Economic Work Conference emphasized greater efforts to attract foreign capital, aiming to better play the unique role of foreign capital in the linkage effect of two markets and two resources. At the same time, by creating better conditions for the development of foreign capital, we will enable it to participate deeply in China's economic cycle and make corresponding contributions to China's economic development and China's foreign cooperation.
Long Guoqiang, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said at the 2022-2023 China Economic Annual Conference that greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital will help promote high-quality development of China's economy, better meet the needs of China's consumption upgrading, and promote the safe and stable operation of the industrial chain and supply chain, which is of great significance for China's modernization.
Multiple arrangements to clarify the path of stabilizing foreign investment
While clearly increasing investment attraction, the meeting also proposed a series of specific measures, Including "expanding market access", "implementing national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises", "actively promoting the accession to high standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, and actively comparing relevant rules, regulations, management and standards to deepen reform in relevant domestic fields" "It is necessary to provide the greatest convenience for foreign businessmen to engage in trade and investment negotiations in China, and promote the implementation and construction of foreign capital landmark projects", etc.
When asked by Xinhua News Agency and other media reporters, the responsible comrades of the Central Finance Office said that foreign-funded enterprises generally care about their role in China's dual cycle and independent innovation strategy, which also determines their long-term confidence in operating in China. The conference made a special deployment on attracting and utilizing foreign capital, mainly covering four aspects: expanding access, optimizing the environment, strengthening services and focusing on key points.
Among them, the meeting made it clear that more efforts should be made to open up the modern service industry in terms of market access, which is highly concerned by foreign-funded enterprises. "Accelerating the opening up in areas with strong foreign investment will not only meet the needs of investors, but also help absorb foreign investment to grow steadily. The service industry belongs to this field." Zhao Ping pointed out that China's manufacturing industry has been basically open, but there is still room for improvement in the openness of the service industry. It is expected that telecommunications, the Internet, education, culture, medical care and other fields will be further opened in the future, and service trade will also accelerate development.
In terms of business environment, Long Guoqiang believes that to do a solid job in attracting and utilizing foreign capital, first of all, we should firmly grasp the "bull nose" of improving the business environment, take the initiative to standardize international economic and trade rules, steadily expand the institutional opening of rules, regulations, management, standards, and deepen the reform in relevant domestic fields.
In terms of strong services, the meeting proposed to provide the greatest convenience for foreign businessmen to engage in trade and investment negotiations in China, and promote the implementation of foreign capital landmark projects.
In terms of focusing on key points, the above-mentioned comrades in charge of the Central Finance Office introduced that we should promote the steady stock and expansion of foreign capital, and increase investment attraction to key countries and manufacturing industries. We should promote high-quality development of the the Belt and Road Initiative.
In Zhang Wei's view, China has been steadily expanding market opening in recent years, and this year's Central Economic Work Conference made more specific arrangements. "These measures not only clarify the focus of the current foreign capital absorption work, but also help promote a higher level of opening up, which will further enhance the confidence of foreign-funded enterprises in their long-term development in China."
Foreign investment is expected to maintain a good momentum in 2023
Industry experts pointed out that a clear goal and clear path will provide a strong guarantee for China to better absorb and utilize foreign capital next year. Zhang Wei analyzed that from the perspective of the situation in 2023, with the overall improvement of China's economy and the deepening of reform and opening up, the attractiveness of the Chinese market will be further released. At the same time, the gradual progress of China's institutional opening up and China's gradual optimization of foreign capital management will create a better development environment for foreign capital.
"With multiple advantages, it is expected that foreign investment will continue to enjoy a good momentum next year, which is expected to stabilize the stock, expand the quantity and improve the quality." Zhang Wei said, among which high-tech manufacturing, high-tech services and other fields will continue to become the focus of foreign investment distribution.
In the opinion of Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Institute of World Economy and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, insisting on promoting high-level opening up and steadily expanding the series of institutional opening arrangements such as rules, regulations, management and standards means that next year China will focus on creating the dividend of institutional opening, building an institutional system conducive to promoting high-level opening up, striving to form new advantages for the development of open economy, and making greater contributions to building an open world economy.
Long Guoqiang pointed out that China's development cannot be separated from the world, and the world's prosperity cannot be separated from China. China firmly pursues a win-win strategy of opening up to the outside world. The door to opening up will only open wider and wider, allowing investors from all countries to better share the opportunities of China's development, while also making new contributions to China's modernization drive. (Reporter Wang Wenbo)