Beijing Redraws Road Map On Foreign Investment
BEIJING -- China has outlined a new approach to foreign investment, with planners saying they will now focus less on attracting large amounts of cash and more on selecting investments that will bring valuable skills and technology into the country.
The change in tactics, detailed Thursday in an official document published by the National Development and Reform Commission, comes after more than a year of heated debate over the role foreign investors should play in China's increasingly large and sophisticated economy.
China has long been one of the world's top destinations for foreign investment, and international companies poured in more than $70 billion last year, drawn by the country's low costs, manufacturing prowess and huge domestic market. But the inroads foreign companies have made into the Chinese economy have caused some unease among both ordinary people and officials, who want to see domestic companies do well also.
The new plan, which isn't a specific blueprint but rather a statement of broad principles, does say that regulators will look more closely at foreign takeovers of local companies and other issues of "national economic security" that have gotten increasing attention recently. But the vision it advances represents neither an attempt to completely close off China's economy -- which is much more open to foreign trade and investment than those of other developing countries -- nor a whole new round of liberalization.
The planning agency said its major goal is to advance what it calls a "fundamental shift from quantity to quality" of investment. For instance, new investments by foreign companies will face stricter environmental and land-use standards, in an effort to weed out projects that use up scarce resources without contributing much to the local economy. On the other hand, multinationals can expect incentives to invest in things such as research centers and training and purchasing operations.
"We will strive to realize a shift by foreign investors away from simple processing, assembly and low-level manufacturing and into research and development, high-end design, modern logistics and other new areas," an unnamed commission official said in a statement accompanying the plan. "This will help our country become one of the world's manufacturing bases for high value-added products."
The plan said China would continue to open up service industries such as banking and retailing, though it offered no commitments beyond the ones already made to the World Trade Organization. The commission also pledged to improve the business environment for both domestic and foreign companies by reducing administrative red tape, improving the efficiency of Customs, and strengthening enforcement of intellectual property rights.
中国制定外资利用新规划
中国制定出了利用外资的新规划。中国规划部门表示，将把利用外资的重点从“量”转向“质”，重点引入那些能带来先进技术和管理经验的投资上。
中国国家发展和改革委员会(National Development and Reform Commission, 简称：国家发改委)在周四发布的一份文件中详述了新的外资利用规划。此前，关于在中国经济发展中外国投资者应该扮演何种角色的激烈争论持续了一年多的时间。
中国长期以来一直都是外商投资的首选地之一，它的低成本、制造实力以及巨大的国内市场吸引了大量外资的涌入，去年中国吸引外资超过700亿美元。但是，随着外资公司不断深入中国经济，当地的老百姓以及政府官员也开始感到些许不安，他们希望中国公司也能有上佳表现。
根据新的利用外资规划，监管机构将加强对外资公司并购本土公司的审查和监管，并且将密切关注涉及国家经济安全的其他问题。不过，这份新规划既不是要完全关闭中国经济的大门－－与其他发展中国家相比，中国贸易和投资领域要开放得多，但也不是新一轮经济自由化的开始。这个新规划提出的是中国利用外资的指导思想和原则，并不是一份具体的发展计划。
国家发改委称，新规划的主要目标是进一步推动利用外资从“量”到“质”的根本转变。比如，新的外商投资必须符合更加严格的环境及土地使用标准，以剔除那些浪费资源、却不能为当地经济做出多少贡献的投资项目。另外，新规划还将鼓励跨国企业对研发中心、培训及采购项目等领域开展投资。
国家发改委负责人在与新规划同时发布的一份声明中表示，将“努力实现外商投资从简单的加工、装配和低水平生产制造层次进一步向研究开发、高端设计、现代流通等新领域拓展，推动我国成为世界高附加值的制造业基地之一。”
根据新规划，中国将继续开放银行业及零售业等服务行业，不过除了对世界贸易组织(World Trade Organization)的承诺外，它没有作出其他承诺。国家发改委还表示将减少政府行政审批事项、提高海关的办事效率并且将加强知识产权的执法力度，以此为国内外企业提供一个更好的商业环境。
Andrew Batson
