The nationwide Investment Promotion Agency Meeting of China was
launched on March 14 in
Beijing
to provide a platform for exchanging information and experiences,
as well as strengthening the guidance on and coordination among the
local agencies.
Responding to the proposal put forward by the country's 16
foreign-investment promotion agencies, 41 such agencies from 27
municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions participated in
the organization and attended the first annual meeting held this
week.
"The establishment of such an organization will help local
foreign-investment promotion agencies become familiar with
international principles," said Ma Xiuhong, vice-minister of the Ministry of Foreign
Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC).
The organization can carry out professional studies depending on
each agency's own resources and promote cooperation among members,
who can create a united force for China to upgrade its investment
promotion sector.
According to official statistics, the global flow of FDI (foreign
direct investment) dropped 40 per cent last year to US$760 billion
compared with US$1.3 trillion the previous year.
And due to the global economic slowdown, experts said, it is not
expected to witness a swift surge this year.
However, in the first two months of this year, China approved 3,963
foreign-funded companies with contractual and actual investments of
US$11.4 billion and US$5.9 billion respectively, up 23.7 per cent
and 24.4 per cent respectively compared with the same period last
year.
"This is due to China's rapid economic development, which enhanced
investors' confidence, and the ever-improving investment
environment," Ma said.
"Although the statistics look optimistic, the gaps among various
places still exist," said Zhao Dujiang, director of the General
Office of the Beijing Foreign Investment Service Centre.
"The key functions for the new organization are helping the local
agencies standardize and optimize their management system to be in
line with the international practice, and in the meantime, making
full use of each other's own advantages," Zhao said.
(
China
Daily March 16, 2002)