I. Continued improvement in quality and size of FDI

The year 2013 saw a steady recovery in FDI in China. Starting from February, FDI posted a positive monthly growth for 10 consecutive months. From January to November, 20,434 foreign-invested enterprises were newly established, down 9.19% year on year. FDI actually utilized reached USD105.506 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.48%, showing a good momentum of development.

With a relatively stable share by FDI, the structure of the sectors and regions which absorbed foreign investments was gradually improved. FDI actually utilized in the service sector accounted for more than half of the national total for the first time. FDI actually utilized in central and western China enjoyed a gradually increasing share. National economic and technological development zones, the important carriers to attract foreign investments, significantly enhanced their comprehensive strength. The main features of FDI in 2013 can be summarized as follows:

Firstly, FDI actually utilized in the service sector accounted for more than half of the total. From January to November, FDI actually utilized in the service sector amounted to USD54.247 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.04%, accounting for 51.42% of the total foreign investments in China. FDI actually utilized in the manufacturing sector stood at USD41.458 billion, down 5.71% on a year-on-year basis. Its proportion in national total declined to 39.29%. Actual use of foreign investment in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery amounted to USD1.563 billion, a year-on-year decline of 12.01%, accounting for 1.48% of the total foreign investments in China.

Secondly, FDI from the EU and the U.S. rebounded markedly. From January to November, FDI actually utilized in China from the U.S. and 28 EU countries arrived at USD3.162 billion and USD6.819 billion, recording a year-on-year growth of 8.6% and 17.36% respectively. Investments in Mainland China from Hong Kong grew steadily by 9.92%; investments from Japan and Korea respectively reached 2.29% and 8.57% with declining growth rate.

Thirdly, FDI actually utilized in central China grew fast. From January to November, FDI actually utilized in central China reached USD9.199 billion, an increase of 9.52% year on year; that in eastern China was USD88.164 billion, up 5.17% on a year-on-year basis; that in western China stood at USD8.143 billion, a year-on-year growth of 4.51%. The proportion of that in eastern, central and western China in the total foreign investments in China respectively accounted for 83.6%, 8.7% and 7.7%. It shall be noted that foreign investments in eastern China in November dropped by 3.77%.

Fourthly, the comprehensive strength of national economic and technological development zones significantly enhanced. Up to now, the number of national economic and technological development zones in China has reached 200, including 96 ones in Eastern China, 58 and 46 ones respectively in Central and Western China with a reasonable layout. In the first half of this year, these 200 development zones achieved local GDP of RMB3.0582 trillion, value added of RMB2.2975 trillion in the secondary industry, value added of RMB716.1 billion in the tertiary industry, fiscal revenue of RMB611.6 billion, and tax revenue of RMB519.6 billion, which have maintained double-digit growth rate, higher than the national average; actual use of foreign investments and reinvestments by foreign-invested enterprises in these zones amounted to USD29.5 billion, a year-on-year climb of 6.2%; total imports and exports realized USD365.5 billion, up 5.2% on a year-on-year basis.

II. Investment facilitation promoted further

Under the unified leadership and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, we are carrying out energetic yet steady pilot reform with regard to foreign investment management system in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, to explore the establishment of a new model for foreign investment access management featuring national treatment before access plus negative list. In this Pilot Free Trade Zone, for the foreign investments beyond the special administrative measures, the State Council submitted to the National People's Congress for approval to temporarily adjust relevant administrative examinations and approvals in “Three Laws on Foreign Investment (Law of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Capital Enterprises, Law of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures and Law of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Contractual Joint Ventures)”, to change the examination and approval system into record system, and guided Shanghai to formulate the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) on Foreign Investment Access to China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, so as to further explore approaches and accumulate experience for establishment of the foreign investment access and regulatory system in line with the international practices and China's national conditions.

In addition, under the unified deployment of the State Council on deepening transformation of government functions, we continued to vigorously promote streamlining administration and institute decentralization, cancelled the approval for “oil, gas, coalbed methane foreign co-operative contract”, actively participated in industrial and commercial registration system reforms such as transformation from registration system of paid-in registered capital to registration system of subscribed registered capital, optimized commercial registration systems and processes on foreign investment, and got involved in revision for the Catalogue of Investment Projects Authorized by the Government to further narrow the scope of foreign investment projects to be approved by the government.

III. Inland and frontier areas opened wider to the outside world

To open inland and frontier areas wider to the outside world is one of the major tasks to achieve all-round opening-up. Major efforts made in 2013 include: first, revision and issue of the Catalogue of Priority Industries for Foreign Investment in the Central-Western Region encompassing 500 entries in total, an addition of 89 ones than those in Edition 2008, to further promote the breadth and depth of opening-up in Central and Western China; second, explorations on administrative measures for national demonstration parks for undertaking industrial transfer to orderly propel the construction of such parks in Central and Western China; third, implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Construction of Sino-Vietnamese Cross-border Economic Cooperation Zone to start the construction of Sino-Vietnamese Cross-border Economic Cooperation Zone; fourth, acceleration in the construction of Sino-Kazakhstan Khorgos International Border Cooperation Center, and improvement of relevant supporting policies.

Translated by Hu Xiaoying

(All information published on this website is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only.)