The Chinese government is to encourage more foreign investment
in energy-saving and environmentally-friendly industries, Vice
Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong has said.
The government would also make more efforts to optimize the
industrial structure of foreign investment, said Ma.
Foreign investors have invested US$665 billion in China in the
past 27 years, Ma said. By the end of last September, China had
recorded capital from over 200 countries and regions and more than
800 research centers have been established by foreign
companies.
Foreign investment played an important role in China's economy,
with taxes from foreign firms contributing 634.9 billion yuan
(US$80.36 billion) last year, 21 percent of the country's total tax
revenue.
By the end of last year, foreign-invested companies were
employing more than 25 million people, accounting for 11 percent of
China's total jobs.
Foreign companies are also encouraged to set up regional
headquarters as well as purchase, logistics and training centers in
China.
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2006)