On January 1, 2020, China enforced the Foreign Investment Law aiming to better protect rights and interests of foreign investors. Five years having passed, CGTN's Wang Mengjie explains how it gives foreign investors confidence as they operate in the Chinese market.

To open doors wider. To enhance a "sense of gain" among foreign investors. China's Foreign Investment Law has been effective for five years now, with foreign-invested enterprises continuing to expand their footprint in the Chinese market.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce, the country saw new foreign-invested enterprises grow 8.9 percent in the first eleven months of 2024, the highest level ever for the same period.

In 2023, China's actual foreign direct investment, or FDI, hit more than 1.13 trillion yuan, or about 158 billion US dollars, a historic high.

The country's FDI exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time in 2020 and continued stable expansion in 2021 and 2022.

PAN YINGHAO Associate Professor, National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China "It (the law) has opened more sectors for foreign investors, especially in the areas of services, healthcare and high-tech industries. It has also made the business environment of China more transparent and fairer."

The law has also provided better legal protection, as foreign firms will get access to government procurement markets through fair competition.

The move is especially attractive for high-tech foreign-invested enterprises, as they pay more attention to intellectual property protection than labor-intensive ones.

PAN YINGHAO Associate Professor, National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China "For all these foreign investors, especially those in high-tech industries, once they know their patterns and innovations are well protected by the Chinese government – it will help build trust among these investors."

The 2023 data is a clear sign of the law's role in building trust, as China's high-tech industries attracted FDI worth about 423 billion yuan, accounting for a record-high of 37.3 percent of the total.

To improve the future business environment, China emphasized fostering new drivers of foreign trade by expanding trade in services and exports of cross-border e-commerce at the just concluded Central Economic Work Conference.

PAN YINGHAO Associate Professor, National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China "Looking ahead, I'm very confident about China's economic future. Especially this year, we could see there are a bunch of policies aimed at stimulating the domestic economy. China remains a major player on the global stage and there are several factors that continue to make it an attractive investment destination."

WANG MENGJIE Beijing "By implementing the Foreign Investment Law, China has boosted its appeal among foreign investors – with a broader development space for foreign companies in trade, investment and innovation. That's why experts believe the Chinese market could be one of the best choices for foreign companies now and in the future. Wang Mengjie, CGTN, Beijing."

原文链接：Chinese Economy: Five years of the Foreign Investment Law