China’s actual use of foreign funds in 2015 increased 6.4 percent year-on-year, reaching a record high, and the trend continued in January this year.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce on Feb 15, China’s actual use of foreign funds in January reached 88.25 billion yuan, up 3.2 percent year-on-year.
Though there are many negative reports about the Chinese economy in foreign media, foreign investment has increased in China, said Zhang Jianping, director of the International Economic Cooperation Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission.
“China has advantages and is still an important investment place. China’s economic growth rate is still among the top worldwide, and China has advantages in business environment, infrastructure construction and market potential,” said Li Dawei, associate researcher at the institute.
Li said that foreign investment structure has been improving since last year. Specifically, high-tech manufacturing industries such as biomedicine and intelligent equipment are the new favorites of foreign investors. In the service sector, research and development, computer software technologies and advanced logistics have a stronger attraction for foreign investors.
Meanwhile, foreign investment mode is also changing. Statistics show that acquisition accounts for 14.1 percent in the actual use of foreign funds in 2015, while the number in 2014 was 6.3 percent. With more foreign enterprises interested in the reform of China’s State-owned enterprises, acquisitions will be a major investment mode in the future.
It is worth noting that west China is most outstanding in attracting foreign investment, with foreign investment increasing 16.9 percent in January year-on-year.
Li explained the phenomenon from three aspects: First, the region has advantages in low-cost labor and land; second, cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing have rich investment potential with their urbanization and consumption demand; third, China’s policies and economic strategies help to attract investment.
