China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) vowed to help secure the operation of foreign-funded companies struggling with the impact of recent outbreaks of Covid-19, such as recruitment and other challenges affecting their normal production and operation. Shu Jueting, MOFCOM Spokesperson, said that the Ministry has established a special working group and is cooperating with relevant departments to deal with multiple issues, including work resumption, employment visas and logistics for foreign-funded companies, especially for businesses in Covid-affected areas like Shanghai. MOFCOM will help foreign-invested companies to maintain normal operations, Shu noted.
Despite the flare-up of the Covid pandemic, foreign investment has continued to rise. From January to March, the country's non-financial FDI reached USD59.09 billion, an increase of 31.7% compared with the same period of last year. Used FDI from countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN members increased by 6.5% and 5.3%, respectively, year-on-year.
“The figures showed that China maintained high growth in FDI, with foreign enterprises optimistic about the country's stable economic environment despite outbreaks of Covid-19 and geopolitical uncertainty," Dong Dengxin, Director of the Finance and Securities Institute at the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told the Global Times. During a meeting held by MOFCOM on March 31, participating foreign auto companies generally expressed a positive outlook on China's long-term stable economic development and market potential, saying that China will remain one of their most important overseas markets. China's auto production and sales increased in 2021, despite Covid-19 and chip shortages. Many of them said that they will increase investment in China in terms of new-energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturing, as well as technology research and development. They cited the government's support policies including the end of long-standing limits on foreign equity stakes in auto manufacturing enterprises starting this year.
In the first quarter, the actual use of foreign investment in high-tech industries stood at CNY132.83 billion, up 52.9%year-on-year. Investment in the high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 35.7%, and that in the high-tech services industry by 57.8%, the Global Times reports.
