Limitations on foreign direct investment (FDI) access in commerce, foreign trade, transportation, medical services, education, finance, insurance, telecommunication and other intermediary services will be alleviated so that FDI can play a more active role in China's economic development in a broader range, said Liu Zuozhang, China deputy director-general of Foreign Investment Administration.

Speaking at the Hong Kong 2000 China Investment Seminar, Liu said that in the last 20 years, the absorption of FDI has been an important component of China's basic national opening and FDI has been developing rapidly.

By the end of October 2000, almost 360,000 FDI enterprises have been approved with total contractual foreign capital over US$657.577 billion and actually paid-in foreign capital over US$339.254 billion.

From 1993 to 1999, China has been the largest FDI recipient country among developing countries seven years in a row, and by the end of 1999, FDI enterprises have employed 20 million people, making up almost 10 percent of the labor force in the urban areas, Liu said.

In the future absorption of FDI, Liu said the government will focus on expanding FDI industrial access fields, improving legal system, improving investment environment, streamlining regulative mechanism and bringing FDI development in China to a new height.

To this end, Liu said the government will, in accordance with the development needs of market economy and WTO rule, continue to amend the implementing rules of the three major laws on foreign investment enterprises, amend, formulate or abolish foreign investment laws and relations, intensify the protection of intellectual property rights.

China will also make new investment forms available, facilitate cooperation between sate-owned enterprises and multinational companies, promote foreign investment to participate in the restructuring of state-owned enterprises, he said.

(Xinhua 12/20/2000)