The Chinese government issued an action plan on Feb 19 to stabilize foreign investment in 2025. A series of measures were put forward to further enhance foreign investment.
Efforts should be made to continuously build the "Invest in China" brand, said the plan, adding that an annual implementation plan for building the brand should be formulated in line with the requirements for deepening the reform of the foreign investment promotion system and mechanism, and a series of "Invest in China" activities should be carefully designed and implemented.
Overseas investment promotion activities should be carried out by coordination and collaboration between the central and local governments to better utilize foreign capital to strengthen the industrial chain in manufacturing.
Based on the different characteristics of major investment sources, efforts should be made to study and formulate differentiated targets and strategies to attract investment, fully activate the bilateral investment promotion working group mechanism, and intensify efforts in project matching and connection, the plan said.
The plan noted strengthening support for foreign-invested enterprises' reinvestment within China by continuously optimizing the business environment and effectively implementing the national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises.
Policies and measures should be studied and formulated to encourage foreign-invested enterprises to reinvest their profits in China.
Pilot projects on the reporting of domestic investment information for foreign-invested enterprises should be carried out.
Efforts for expanding the scope of encouraged industries for foreign investment should be made by revising and expanding the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment, and optimizing the structure of foreign investment, promoting foreign investment in serving the high-quality development of China's manufacturing industry, directing foreign investment into modern service industries, and guiding more foreign investment into central and western regions and the northeastern region.
The restrictions on using domestic loans for foreign investment companies should be lifted. The plan said that these firms are allowed to use domestic financing for equity investments, and policy publicity and interpretation should be intensified to facilitate the establishment of headquarters-type institutions by multinational companies in China.
Multinational companies are encouraged to invest and set up investment companies. The relevant regulations for foreign investors to establish investment companies should be optimized, the plan said, adding that efforts should be made to facilitate foreign exchange management, personnel entry and exit, and cross-border data flow for multinational companies to invest in setting up investment companies and ensure that the enterprises established by the relevant foreign-invested companies in China enjoy the treatment for foreign-funded enterprises in accordance with the law and regulations.
The plan also noted facilitating foreign investors to conduct mergers and acquisitions in China. Under the framework of the Foreign Investment Law, the rules and procedures for mergers and acquisitions conducted by foreign-invested enterprises should be optimized, the scope of merger and acquisition management should be improved, and the threshold for cross-border share swaps should be lowered.
Efforts should be intensified to attract investment in key sectors. The plan said that foreign businesses are encouraged to invest in animal husbandry-related fields such as breeding, feeding equipment production and production of feed and veterinary medicine, and such investors can enjoy national treatment.
Measures will be made to support foreign-invested enterprises to participate in China's new industrialization processes, with a focus on attracting foreign investment in high-tech fields to provide more market opportunities and cooperation space for foreign-invested enterprises.
Service sectors such as elderly care services, culture and tourism, sports, health care, vocational education, and finance are encouraged to attract and utilize foreign investment to meet diverse service consumption demands.
Meanwhile, the external publicity and promotion of economic policies and the business environment should be strengthened. The plan highlighted making full use of press conferences, briefings, media interviews and expert interpretations to actively publicize and explain the new policies, measures and highlights of China's efforts to expand high-level opening-up to the outside world.
