Process of upgrading opening-up continues

In recent years, the focus of foreign investment has been gradually moving from processing and manufacturing to high-tech fields such as computers, integrated circuits and smart manufacturing.

Nearly 2,000 multinational companies have set up their regional headquarters or research and development centers in China. For instance, Dassault Systems and its Chinese partner have agreed to establish a Sino-French joint industry innovation center. They will strengthen cooperation in dynamic simulation, additive manufacturing and multi-robot advanced manufacturing to develop an incubation platform for future innovative manufacturing technologies.

The actual use of foreign investment in high-tech manufacturing was $66.59 billion in 2017, up 11.3 percent year-on-year, of which the growth rates for such sectors as electronics and communications equipment, computers and office equipment, and medical equipment and instruments were 7.9 percent, 71.1 percent and 28 percent, respectively. The scale and level of overseas investment by Chinese enterprises are also seeing rapid increase.

In 2012, Chinese direct investment in the United States exceeded, for the first time, US investments in China. In 2016, China’s direct investment in the US reached $16.98 billion, up 111.5 percent year-on-year. And Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, Zoomlion, Sany and LiuGong Group, which are among the world’s top 20 engineering machinery manufacturers, as well as other Chinese companies have set up R&D centers in Europe.