China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China has increased in quality and quantity due to an improvement in the country's business environment.
"The fast growth of new overseas-funded companies benefited mainly from continuous improvement of China's overall business environment," said MOC Spokesperson Gao Feng.
MOC Spokesperson Gao also stated that the Chinese Government is optimistic that more foreign businesses of excellence will be enticed to do business in China. He hopes that China will remain the top choice for these foreign investors.
According to the MOC, China's FDI increased 1.1 percent every year. In the first six months of 2018, the FDI has reached to 446.29-billion Chinese Yuan or U.S$68.32-billion.
The number of foreign investors in China has also a notable increase of 96.6 percent.
Gao said that the improvement in FDI can be attributed to the improvement of the process when it comes to putting investments. The basic procedures and the facilitation of requirement have been simplified. This attracts foreign investors' confidence.
China Society for WTO Studies Vice-Chairman Huo Jianguo said that foreign investors are enthusiastic to put-up their businesses in China because they are confident to the vibrant potential of China's market as well as the eased restrictions set by the Chinese government to foreign investors.
The high-tech manufacturing industry is the fastest growing FDI industry in China for the first half of 2018. This industry is driven by the growth of medical instruments, and equipment concerning communications, computer, and office-based.
The Chinese Government has also revised the country's negative lists for foreign investment which expands the market reach for other sectors such as agriculture, energy, finance, transportation, and socio-cultural.
In July, China's negative list was cut to 48 from 63 of last year. The Pilot Free Trade Zones' list decreased to 45 items from 95 of last year.
"These lists have opened up areas that many overseas investors have long been interested in," Gao said.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) cited in its China Business Climate Survey Report 2018 that 74 percent of AmCham China members are planning to expand their investment in China. This is the highest rate for many years.
Meanwhile, the European Union Chamber of Commerce also expressed that more than half of its members are planning to develop their business operations in China.
