Braving the headwinds of protectionism and unilateralism, China has been consistently committed to promoting shared development through its opening-up drive, reinforcing its status as a magnet for foreign investors.
Latest data highlighted China's continued attractiveness as the global economy slipped into the doldrums. In 2022, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 8 percent year on year to 189.13 billion U.S. dollars.
The high-tech manufacturing industry proved particularly appealing, as FDI inflow into this sector jumped by 28.3 percent compared with 2021.
What is behind the strong attractiveness of China's market? Analysts said that aside from the country's super-sized market, increasingly affluent people and robust economic performance, a significant factor is the country's continuous commitment to promoting high-quality opening-up.
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2023 held in Davos, Switzerland, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in his speech reiterated China's stance of adhering to an all-round opening-up. "China's national reality indicates that opening up to the world is a must, and the country must open up wider and make it work better," Liu said. With opening-up a defining feature of the Chinese economy, the Chinese government has taken a slew of actions to strengthen the institutional guarantees for its high-level opening-up, including the enforcement of the Foreign Investment Law.
In 2022, China fully implemented the shortened negative list for foreign investment, expanded the encouraged investment catalog, and added more cities to the pilot program of opening the service sector.
Thanks to continuous efforts in optimizing the business environment, China has remained a strategic priority market for overseas enterprises. According to a report by the country's top trade-facilitating body, over 90 percent of the surveyed foreign firms were satisfied with their access to business premises and taxation in the Chinese market in the fourth quarter of 2022, while 9.78 percent of the respondents had expanded investment in China during the period.
China has now become a major trading partner for more than 140 countries and regions, with its total goods trade up 7.7 percent year on year in 2022, topping the world for six consecutive years.
Apart from boosting trade and investment by opening its market wider, China has also been actively sharing its development opportunities with the rest of the world.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for instance, which was proposed by China in 2013, has played a crucial role in boosting economic connections across the globe.
Thanks to this initiative, people around the world now have easier access to clean water and modern transportation. A critical component of the BRI, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, built by China, is projected to contribute 2 to 3 percent to Kenya's GDP.