China pledges new measures to expand opening up and welcome foreign investment

China will roll out more measures to expand opening up and attract more foreign investment in 2025, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday.

Efforts will be made to further ease market access, MOC official Li Yongjie told a press conference. She said that after China placed zero restrictions on foreign investment in its manufacturing sector last year, it will now advance the opening up of its services sector this year – particularly through pilot programs in the telecommunications, medical care and education fields.

Regarding the optimization of the country's business environment, Li pledged continued efforts to promote the Invest in China campaign this year and to improve services for foreign-invested firms.

Efforts will also focus on resolving problems foreign-invested firms face in areas such as qualification licensing, standard setting and government procurement, according to Li.

Efforts should also be made to build high-level opening-up platforms that align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, the official said, calling for continued work to improve the quality and efficiency of the country's pilot free trade zones.