China rust belt opens door to foreign investors
SHENYANG, China: Trucks carrying hitech car components rumble in and out the gates of an American industrial zone in the heart of that the city especially renovated
While foreign firms complain about being locked out of large swathes of China’s vast market, the door has cracked open a bit wider in northeastern Liaoning province as the authorities seek to revive the recession-hit industrial region.
The bustling activity at the Shenyang American Industrial Park, which hosts international suppliers for global car brands, stands in contrast with the darkened windows and empty parking lots of the moribund Chinese factories nearby.
- come in the provincial capital, Shenyang, and in parts of the southwest, than anywhere else in the country, according to a survey by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.
“The local government offers many benefits, such as easing company registration, providing space and giving family members three- year visas,” said Harald Kumpfert, chairman of the EU chamber’s Shenyang chapter.
Elsewhere, companies are in-
In this picture taken on July 3, 2017 a worker uses a pencil to mark car interior pieces for a major European car maker in the American Industrial Park in Shenyang. creasingly voicing frustration about investment barriers in sec while China subsidises its own domestic businesses.
The EU business chamber issued an annual report on Tuesday saying companies were “suffering from accumulated ‘ promise fatigue’” as the government has yet to follow through on pledges to open the market.
And while Liaoning is more welcoming, Kumpfert said that after setting up shop, businesses in Shenyang face similar obstacles, including lengthy waits for permits and “unclear” regulations.
Settling in China can also come companies said they have had to for market access in the aerospace, machinery, environment, auto, utilities and primary energy industries.
Still, the chamber has observed an uptick in foreign entrepreneurs arriving in Shenyang in recent years.
Businesses that specialise in renewable energy, tourism, agriculture or advanced technology are well positioned to succeed in Shenyang as the city addresses pollution and undergoes a “painful restructuring process”, Kumpfert said.
and construction continues in the Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing Park in Shenyang, which hosts
Trade and Economic Cooperation said data on foreign investment was not immediately available.
China’s northeast has long relied on state-owned enterprises plagued with severe overcapacity in heavy industries that have crippled the economy, costing thousands of jobs.
Liaoning was the only province - cent. The province also admitted
“All these government projects have ignored principles of supply and demand and created all these problems,” said Jason Lee, a director of business development for Eastern America, which bought the land from the city to build the Shenyang American Industrial Park.
“Nowadays, there is more government support for foreign businesses here. There’s a lot to catch up on, but now they want to work - times accompany him to meetings to woo foreign clients.