China to help foreign companies cushion trade war impact

Chinese officials have been courting foreign companies, reaffirming the nation’s determination to continue reform and opening-up and vowing to help foreign companies ease the impact of the escalating trade war with the US.

In meetings with foreign executives, top officials have sought to project confidence in China’s economic growth despite recent downward pressure and vowed to address concerns from foreign companies about market access and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection.

At a press briefing on Thursday, Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that China is rushing through a policy change that would allow foreign investors to make strategic investments in publicly traded Chinese companies.

“This reflects China’s development direction of further expanding opening-up, streamlining regulations and delegating authority, which has sent positive signals to the market,” Gao said, adding that the measure will be coming “shortly.”

To better address concerns of foreign companies, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan convened a meeting on Monday with several top foreign executives, during which executives voiced concerns regarding IPR, the business environment, market access and the ongoing trade war with the US, according to Gao.

“Regarding some specific issues raised by the companies, we are actively pushing for coordination and solutions. As for the common issues, the reality is that the Chinese government has long been trying hard to improve investment and the business environment,” he said.

Gao also noted that China will help foreign companies operating in China to deal with the impact of the trade war with the US.

“The Chinese government is studying targeted measures and will announce these measures to help Chinese and foreign companies in China actively deal with potential difficulties and challenges,” he said, adding that nearly 50 percent of the companies hurt by US tariffs are foreign ones.

“This shows that the US’ unilateral and trade protectionist actions hurt the interest of not only Chinese and US companies and consumers but the security of the entire global supply chain,” Gao said.