The Chinese government will remove all restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector to support an open world economy, one of the eight major steps to support the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), President Xi Jinping has announced. The removal of the restriction demonstrates China's openness in the manufacturing sector, Hu Qimu, Deputy Secretary General of Forum 50, told the Global Times. Hu added that China's competitiveness in the manufacturing sector remains strong on an international scale, and it is therefore capable of handling the full opening of the market. Li Chang'an, Professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, said that the move also demonstrates China's confidence in the manufacturing sector, which has retained a leading role globally.
China's manufacturing added value in 2022 accounted for nearly 30% of the global total, and the scale of its manufacturing industry ranked first in the world for the 13th consecutive year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Hu said that technology spillovers and exchanges of personnel will help strengthen China's development in the sector, especially for high-end industries, as more foreign enterprises are expected to step up cooperation with China. Li agreed, adding that more foreign enterprises coming to China will help create a better business environment for manufacturing enterprises and help establish a better environment for fair competition.
The nation revised the negative list for foreign investment access for five consecutive years, starting in 2017. The 2021 version of the list further reduced the number of items restricted from foreign investment to 31, and the version targeting the nation's pilot free trade zones (FTZs) shortened the number to 27. Industry-wise, the 2021 nationwide negative list removed basically all restrictions with only two remaining. The 2021 free trade zone negative list for foreign investment already removed all restrictions for the manufacturing sector. In 2022, foreign investment inflows continued growing with the actual use of foreign investment recording a year-on-year increase of 4.5% to USD189.13 billion, exceeding CNY1.2 trillion for the first time in yuan terms, the Global Times reports.
