China to attract more FDI, defuse local debts as premier chairs meeting

Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council executive meeting on Friday to study measures to attract and utilize foreign investment and to arrange work to prevent and address local debt risks further.

The meeting also heard a report on the handling of suggestions from deputies to the National People's Congress and proposals from members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference last year.

It stressed that stabilizing foreign investment will be a focus of this year's economic work and urged efforts to widen market access, level the playing field further, and smooth the flow of innovation factors.

It also emphasized the need to shore up foreign investor confidence in developing businesses in China and to boost the quality and level of trade and investment cooperation.

Noting that local debt risks have generally been relieved, the meeting underscored efforts to boost policy support, address problems at their source, and establish a government debt management system that meets the needs of high-quality development.

Attention should be paid to the inconvenience of payment processes experienced by the country's elderly population and foreign visitors, it said, calling for coordination and greater resource input to facilitate the development of various payment methods and make them more complementary.

According to the meeting, all suggestions and proposals handed to the State Council last year were handled, resulting in the introduction of over 2,000 policies and measures solving key issues in economic and social development.

It called for solid work to handle this year's suggestions and proposals from national lawmakers and political advisors to facilitate China's high-quality development.

The meeting also approved a number of government documents, including guidelines on the further improvement of payment services and draft regulations on water conservancy, ecological conservation compensation, and consumer rights protection.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: File photo of a view of Lujiazui area in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in east China's Shanghai. /Xinhua)