China remains a popular destination for overseas investors, with a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the January-April period. Actually used FDI in the Chinese mainland rose 38.6% year-on-year to CNY397.07 billion in the first four months of the year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. The volume rose 30.1% from the same period in 2019. Foreign investment in the services industry soared 46.8% year-on-year to CNY312.94 billion, with foreign investment in the high-tech services sector up 34%. From January to April, investment from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expanded 65.2% on-year, and investment from countries along the Belt and Road and the European Union, respectively, rose 62.8% and 9.2%. The foreign investment actually used in China’s eastern, central and western regions increased by 39.1%, 37.5% and 30.3%, respectively. Liang Ming, Researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, expects China to attract foreign capital of over USD150 billion this year, maintaining the positive momentum.
U.S. goods exports to China rebounded strongly in 2020 by nearly 18%, propelled by China’s market openings, tariff exclusions and early recovery from the pandemic, the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) said. But U.S. services exports to China, which include travel, education and financial services, declined 3% in 2019, the first decline in more than a decade. Notably, U.S trade with the rest of the world contracted by 15%, according to the USCBC. “Combined exports of goods and services to China still supported nearly 1 million U.S. jobs in 2019, the most recent year for which data are available,” the USCBC said in the 2021 State Export Report. “Ultimately, though, the best remedy for boosting trade and creating more U.S. jobs is for both the United States and China to permanently remove tariffs,” USCBC President Craig Allen said. Ministry of Commerce Spokesman Gao Feng said increasing tariffs unilaterally is not in the interests of China, the U.S. or the rest of the world, the China Daily reports.
Since 2011, U.S. services exports to China have more than doubled, registering the highest average annual growth rate of 11.6%, the report said. With regard to exports of goods, China remained the third-largest goods export market of the U.S. in 2020, following Canada and Mexico. In 2019, the U.S. exported just under USD105 billion in goods to China. Last year, that number jumped to USD123 billion, the second-highest total in a decade.
