Doors for foreign companies continue to open

China’s unwavering efforts to expand high-level openingup in the digital economy and green development will create more growth opportunities for foreign companies, government officials and business leaders say.

This will give greater impetus to international free trade and investment, now hobbled by the pandemic and geopolitical issues, they said.

The remarks were made at the recent 22nd China International Fair for Investment and Trade, in Xiamen, Fujian province.

“In pursuit of the new dualcirculation development, China will increase investments in scientific and technological innovations and bolster the integration of digital technology development and economic and social development,” said Zhang Chunxian, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature.

Under the dual-circulation model the domestic market is the mainstay and the domestic and foreign markets reinforce each other.

The country will also experiment to expand market access in new business forms of the digital economy and strengthen international collaboration in the digital sector, which will provide broader market space for multinational companies investing in China, Zhang said.

China offers great development opportunities in green energy and industrial investment, and the country encourages increased foreign investment in areas such as energy saving, environmental protection and green and low-carbon development, he said.

In China, the world’s secondlargest economy, the actual use of foreign capital rose 17.3% year-on-year to 798.33 billion yuan ($114.8 billion) in the first seven months of the year.

The number of newly established foreign companies rose 23.5% to 48,000 last year.

Guo Tingting, assistant minister of commerce, said China will continue to improve economic and trade collaboration with other countries to create more development space for companies of all countries.

Wang Jie, vice-president of Schneider Electric, a French multinational, said the company sees great development opportunities in China as the country accelerates industrial digitalization and pays increasing attention to sustainable development.

The company is willing to work with its partners to jointly tap market opportunities presented by digitalization and tap the potential of green development, Wang said.