Chinese commerce officials have expressed continued confidence in the country's ability to attract more global investors in the long term. Through its continued efforts, China hopes to retain its reputation as a hot spot for global investment in the long term despite the headwinds from ongoing geopolitical disputes.
The vice-minister of commerce, Qian Keming, mentioned on Tuesday that the government would be accelerating its collaboration with its global trade partners, including those in countries such as Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. The senior official hopes that the multilateral and bilateral deals will result in more investments coming into China over the next few years.
According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce this week, foreign direct investments into China last year had increased by 5.8 percent year-on-year to over 941.5 billion yuan, or roughly $136.5 billion. Qian stated that the continued growth in foreign direct investments could partly be attributed to the country's opening up effectors, which has received a positive response from the global business community.
China's vastly improved infrastructure and industrial chain have also helped it gain more foreign investments, particularly in areas such as high-end manufacturing, smart technologies, modern services, and digital technology. Last year, China saw the establishment of over 40,000 new foreign-funded enterprises.
It also saw around 834 new foreign-funded projects with investments of over $100 million. This represented as 15.8 percent increase when compared to the previous year. Official data further revealed that global capital flowing into China's high-tech industries in 2019 had surged by more than 25.6 percent year-on-year to over 266 billion yuan.
The director-general of the ministry's department of foreign investment administration, Zong Changqing, mentioned that despite the trade dispute between the country and the United States, foreign investors remained confident in China's ability to endure and prosper. Investors apparently still believed that China could continue to grow sustainably given the long-term global demand.
Zong explained that Chinese consumers are now much more open to new overseas products and services, particularly from middle-income earners who have an appetite for digital products and services. According to the ministry's data, some of its larger investors included Singapore, which had a foreign direct investment growth of 51.1 percent last year. Meanwhile, the country saw year-on-year foreign investment growth of 43.1 percent from the Netherlands and 21.7 percent from South Korea.
Among the most well-known companies that have made substantial financial commitments in the country include big corporate players such as Samsung, Caterpillar, Saudi Aramco, Panasonic, Tesla, Siemens, BASF, ABB, and British Petroleum.
