China to further open up to the world

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China has put forward concrete measures to uphold multilateralism and promote free trade as openness has been a buzzword for Chinese leaders in recent years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech last year was all about global integration. He said the country will further open up its markets to foreign investors as it looks to move from high-speed to high-quality growth.

Detailed measures have been unveiled to further open up the Chinese market to foreign investors from four aspects: improving market access for foreign enterprises, improving the investment environment, protecting intellectual property rights, and expanding imports.

Shanghai, China in 1994 / VCG Photo

Premier Li Keqiang echoed Xi's proposal and provided a detailed implementation timeline.

The negative list, a list of industries in which foreign investment is either prohibited or restricted, has been shortened and will be cut further by the end of June. More sectors will be opened up by then, such as value-added telecom services, medical institutions, transportation, banking, energy, and resources.

Also, China's new foreign investment law will go into effect beginning January 1st, 2020. Fruitful achievements have been obtained thanks to the new round of high-level opening-up in 2018.

According to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), foreign investment in China rose by three percent last year, despite the 19 percent decline in global cross-border investments. More than 60,000 foreign-funded enterprises were registered in 2018, an increase of almost 70 percent.

Last year saw about 500 billion U.S. dollars of foreign capital pouring in on 1,700 mega contracted cooperation projects. At China's first international import expo held in Shanghai, about 58 billion U.S. dollars worth of deals were signed.

Speaking of expanding imports, the government reduced import tariffs on more than 1,500 taxable items. The new policy will save an estimated total of 60 billion yuan for firms and consumers.

As a proof of China's opening up policy, German Automaker BMW has become the first car manufacturer to take full advantage of it by taking a majority stake in its Chinese joint venture. American automaker Tesla has also announced it will open an electric car factory in Shanghai, the first outside of the U.S., with plans to build 500,000 cars a year.

International organizations have also recognized China's efforts to better facilitate foreign investment. According to the latest World Bank annual ratings, China is ranked 46 among 190 economies in the ease of doing business. And Beijing is now one of the only two cities in the world where the process of starting a business is completely free.

(The video is made by Li Jingyi, Wang Yushen)