China will earn more foreign direct investment (FDI) after becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Jisman Simanjuntak, spokesman of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), told reporters Tuesday in Jakarta.
Launching an annual World Investment Report 2001 here, Simanjuntak said most of the FDI will come from West Europe and North America, with major investment field on the home-market- based industries.
"It is because the country has already had a progress on export- oriented industries," he said, adding that currently China is still the highest foreign investment destination in the world.
The accord on China's entry into WTO was approved by the formal meeting of the 18th WTO Working Party on China's accession in Geneva on Monday, clearing the way for China to join the world trading body within months.
According the World Investment Report 2001, FDI flows to and from developing Asia hit record levels last year.
The record US$143 billion in inflows -- a 44 percent increase over 1999 -- was primarily due to an unprecedented FDI boom in Hong Kong, China.
"With US$64 billion in inflows, it overtook China as the single largest FDI recipient in Asia, and was also the top source of outward FDI, with US$63 billion, although FDI from China and India is also rising," the report said.
(peopledaily.com.cn 09/18/2001)
