Foreign firms remain bullish on China investment

CHINESE authorities have responded to concerns over foreign investment by saying that foreign enterprises remained confident in investing and doing business in the country as shown by data from various sources.

This year, global cross-border direct investment dropped significantly amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Against this background, China has made significant achievements in the prevention and control of the pandemic as well as economic and social development, and the utilization of foreign investment has gradually stabilized, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

From January to August, the actual use of foreign capital added up to US$89 billion, down a slight 0.3 percent from the same period last year. In particular, the fall in the utilization of foreign capital narrowed month by month since April, which was better than expected, said Meng Wei, spokeswoman for the NDRC.

A report by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai released last Wednesday said that despite the Trump administration’s push for US companies to reshore their operations, more than three-quarters of respondents (78.6 percent) reported no change in their investment strategy allocations, up 5.1 percentage points compared with 2019.

“COVID-19 hit the Chinese economy hard in early 2020, but the recovery was quick, especially in certain industries. American companies still see China’s consumer market as a great opportunity. China’s recent efforts to open insurance and asset management to foreign participation are also welcome,” said Ker Gibbs, the chamber’s president.

“This shows that foreign firms’ confidence in conducting long-term investment in China has not changed,” Meng said.