By Zhong Sheng
China’s national legislature passed the foreign investment law at the closing meeting of its annual session on March 15.
Foreign media described the approval as “extremely important” and the “largest highlight of the annual session of the national legislature”, believing that the decision has showcased China’s confidence to open its arms wider to the world, and its sincere hope for openness, mutual benefit and win-win results.
The approval is a display of China’s strong determination to further expand opening up. As it is said by a senior manager of a multinational corporation who took part in the discussion of the draft law and the solicitation of opinions, the unified foreign investment law represents a major step of China toward a deeper level of institutional opening-up.
A Financial Times report also pointed out that the law will soothe foreign businesses’ concerns, protect their legitimate rights in China and keep investment flowing into the country.
Some foreign scholars said that the Chinese market is getting more mature and interacting with the world better, saying that the Chinese economy is becoming more and more confident.
China has taken a slew of measures to facilitate opening up, such as jointly building the Belt and Road, establishing the pilot free trade zones (FTZs), promoting the establishment of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics, and holding the first China International Import Expo and preparing for the second one.
These efforts mark that China has embarked on a historic journey of opening-up, and is furthering reform and opening up in a comprehensive way. The new measures once again indicate that China will open wider to the world.
The approval the foreign investment law reflects China’s quickened steps toward pursuing high-quality development through reform. The law signifies a fundamental change in China’s management of foreign investment, said the Associated Press.
Chinese economy has transitioned from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development. Promoting and protecting foreign investment by enacting a national law is a natural step toward upgrading opening-up, and promoting high-quality economic development.
China witnessed expanding foreign investment since the reform and opening up, and remains the second largest destination of foreign capital in-flows.
The foreign investment law is a summary of China’s experiences in exploring a legal system for foreign investment over the past four decades and adapts to the demand for development in the new era.
Keeping pace with China’s opening steps, it is also a proactive move to grasp and follow the law of the development of history and time.
The approval provides the world with historic opportunities to board China’s express train of development. Investment environment is like the air, and only clean air can attract more investment.
According to the Doing Business 2019 report released by the World Bank, China moved up 32 spots to the 46th place in the Doing Business Rankings in 2018 compared with the last year.
With greater sincerity, China has attracted a batch of foreign enterprises, including Germany’s chemical producer BASF Group, British Telecom, Exxon Mobil Corporation, BMW, Tesla and Airbus.
It was voted again as the most promising place for business development by Japanese multinational manufacturers in a report by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
In January and February this year, 147.11 billion yuan of foreign investment was used by China, growing 5.5 percent. The performance was achieved following the hard-won 3-percent growth of foreign direct investment last year. The above figures indicate that China is still a hotbed for global investment and opportunities.
China, by developing on a high-quality basis and cooperating with the world for win-win results, is attracting worldwide attention, and the newly approved foreign investment law will only expand the focus.
For foreign companies, an open China is the largest attraction, said a manager of a multinational corporation.
The continuous introduction of new opening up measures is the reason for the confidence in China of the international community, and also the charm of the Chinese economy.
(Zhong Sheng, a homonym in Chinese for “voice of China”, is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)
Source: People’s Daily
