Country still has investment advantages

They have therefore launched propaganda campaigns to win over public opinion, denying the upbeat tone of China's investment climate and the Chinese economy. Moreover, such campaigns are being used to force China to continually grant foreign companies "super-national treatment" in policies like permission for foreign investment, market competition, and government procurement.

In fact, there are many reasons why some foreign companies have seen their profits decline in China recently. It is not only because the next wave of domestic demand is still waiting to be released, but also because the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises has been strengthened and they have a bigger share of the market now.

Generally speaking, the advantages of China's investment climate in attracting foreign capital are still obvious and remain strong, as the country is transforming from relying on low labor costs toward the comprehensive advantages that include huge market space, the quality of the labor force, soft investment environment, among other things.

Besides ensuring the economy's sustainable development, the ongoing and deepening reforms should greatly boost the confidence of foreign investors.

First, the improvement in the quality of the labor force has created conditions for attracting high value-added and technical content foreign investments. Second, the implementation of an innovation-driven development strategy and encouraging the development of many strategic emerging industries in China can provide policy support for improving the level and quality of foreign investments. Third, the regional difference and multilevel labor supply can meet the differing needs of foreign investments.

The adjustment of some Chinese policies is to maintain its existing economic advantages and better attract foreign investment. They will enable China to participate in the international division of labor and cooperation at a higher level. More importantly, it is a country's basic right to prioritize its foreign investments according to its own development needs. China has already surpassed the stage of blindly importing foreign capitals, and is now giving priority to advanced technology, managerial experience and high-quality talent, which are more aligned with its current development needs.

China will offer more opportunities to such foreign companies by working on the improvement of its investment climate and accelerating the transformation of government functions to facilitate foreign investment.

The author is an observer of international issues.

(China Daily 12/05/2013 page8)

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