SHANGHAI: China unswervingly promotes high-level opening up, placing an key emphasis on attracting foreign investment, and steadily expanding institutional opening up, including rules, regulations, management and standards, said Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao when presiding over a symposium in Shanghai on Monday.
Representatives from American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and American-funded enterprises, including Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Dow, Merck and Honeywell, attended the symposium.
At present, China’s economic operation has maintained a positive trend and its market potential has continuously increased, representing more opportunities for enterprises from all over the world, including U.S.-funded enterprises, to develop in China, said Wang.
The Ministry of Commerce will continue to provide accurate and efficient services for foreign-funded enterprises and projects, protecting the rights and interests of foreign investment, creating a market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment, whilst sharing the dividends of China’s huge market and open development with enterprises from all over the world.
Wang emphasized the deep economic ties between China and the U.S. The economic and trade cooperation between the two sides exists on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit are in the fundamental interests of not only the two countries and their peoples, but also to the world as a whole. China will continue to welcome U.S.-funded enterprises to develop in China and achieve win-win results.
During the meeting, Wang also reiterated China’s effort for opening-up. He noted that China’s unswervingly push for high-level opening-up and positive momentum of its economic recovery will provide more opportunities for foreign companies, including those from the US, to develop in China.
Despite so-called decoupling and de-risking calls made by some Western officials, foreign investments continue to pour into China, thanks to the massive opportunities the Chinese market offers. Foreign direct investment into China in the first four months of 2023 reached 499.46 billion yuan ($71.34 billion), up 2.2 percent year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed, indicating that the world’s second-largest economy remains a popular destination for global investors.
Representatives of US-funded enterprises attending the meeting said they are optimistic about the prospects of the development of the Chinese market and are willing to further explore the Chinese market.
Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, told the Global Times that the meeting has created a good atmosphere for the planned meetings between senior Chinese and US trade officials.
“The communication is conductive to seeking common grounds for cooperation for the official talks,” Bai said.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said Wang will meet with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ministerial meeting in Detroit, according to Reuters on Thursday.
Liu Pengyu, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington, said that Beijing is open to communication at all levels with the US but only on the basis of mutual respect, Reuters said.
He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, also highlighted the significance of promoting conversation and cooperation with US enterprises amid the tense US-China relations, noting that China has been actively promoting the stabilization and easing of bilateral relations, of which economic and trade relations remain the ballast stone.
“Further connecting with US enterprises will help facilitate and promote the upcoming meetings,” He told the Global Times on Monday, adding that US multinational companies play a buffer role in the US’ containing on China.
The meetings will have a positive effect on stabilizing the economic and trade relations between China and the US and promoting continued development, He said.
However, experts stressed that the main obstacles to the current China-US relationship are on the political side, as the US continues to push for a “decoupling” with restrictions on trade and investment, even though US officials claim they are not seeking a “decoupling.”
Such policies targeting China, which were formed on so-called national security concerns and are aimed at suppressing China, have a fundamentally wrong direction, and the US needs to make a correction for a better cooperation environment, He said.
According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade in the first quarter of this year was $161.59 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 13.1 percent.
Representatives of U.S.-funded enterprises attending the meeting expressed their gratitude to the Ministry of Commerce, especially in relation to special work group for key projects and for providing service guarantees for foreign-funded enterprises. Enterprises continue to be optimistic about the development prospects of the Chinese market and are willing to further deepen their ties to the Chinese market.
