1970-01-01 08:33:28
Foreign investment flow into China is expected to surpass 90 billion for the whole year of 2008, making China the top destination of foreign investment among developing countries for 17 years in a row, according to a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce on Dec. 23.
China's actual use of foreign direct investment stands at 83 billion USD in 2007.
Commerce Minister Chen Deming pledged at the meeting to stabilize the scale and improve the quality of the utilization of foreign investment next year. He has also detailed the policies to be taken to achieve that.
Firstly, a better environment will be in place to facilitate the investment. A comprehensive assessment system will be created which encourages innovation, energy saving and environmental protection, efficient land use, employment and corporate social responsibility. The system should be an integral part of the foreign investment management regime governing the approval, statistics and facilitation of the investment.
Secondly, the structure of foreign investment should be optimized. Foreign investment will be encouraged in the hi-tech, energy saving and environmental protection and modern service sectors to improve the structure of domestic industries.
Thirdly, the destinations of foreign investment are expected to be more diversified in a more rational way. Openness oriented industries from the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta are expected to be shifted to less developed areas in those regions, as well as the mid-west part of the country and the traditional industrial base in the northeast. Cooperation can be made between national economic parks from the eastern and western part of the country. That will boost the balanced development between the east and west.
The way of using foreign investment will be innovated. Research will be conducted on policies making the listing of eligible foreign-funded enterprises in China's stock market possible.
The figures released by the Ministry of Commerce earlier this month show that the actual use of FDI into China increased by 26.3 percent to 86.4 billion USD over the first eleven months of the year, nearly doubled the less than 14 percent rise in the same period of last year but much lower than the 45.6 percent surge in the first six months of this year.
The use of FDI drops in November 2008 by 36.5 percent to 5.32 billion USD, compared with an increase of 35 percent in the same month of 2007.
By People's Daily Online