The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and US Multinational Enterprises Roundtable Meeting was held on Thursday in Changchun, capital of Northeast China’s Jilin Province. China’s top economic planner announced it will forge a new paradigm of foreign investment in the nation and in Northeast China’s provinces.
Zheng Chiping, Director of the Department of Foreign Capital and Overseas Investment of the NDRC, stated on the meeting that China is reviewing the negative lists for foreign investors, adding that US enterprises do not need to worry about being treated unfairly amid the current intense relations between China and the US.
Alan Beebe, President of AmCham China, said on the meeting that 75 percent of companies worldwide are confident about Chinese enterprises, and 85 percent of international companies interviewed have no plan to expand their supply chains out of the Chinese market.
Beebe suggested that China had been the most popular investment destination for many US enterprises but the uncertainties of China-US relations generates more barriers on bilateral business activities and even on global economic development. “However, Chinese easing of business and investment environments rectify current intense situations,” said Beebe.
As China’s famous industry center, Jilin’s foreign trade volume in the first five months of 2021 saw a year-on-year increase of 29.4 percent, and 89 percent of the total foreign investment in the province went to the manufacturing sector from January to May 2021, with a 47.4 percent year-on-year increase. “Jilin and the provinces of Northeast China have both strength and potential to achieve economic development,” Ning Jizhe, Vice Chairman of the NDRC, said during the meeting.
Howard Zhang, Legislation Policy Senior Manager of Jaguar Land Rover China, told the Global Times that the powerful local industrial foundation, the sophisticated supply chain and training programs increase the region’s attractiveness among foreign enterprises and investors.
“US enterprises may be glad to be participants, promoters and constructors in Chinese economic development and revitalization of the provinces of Northeast China,” Ye Jie, Greater China President of the US energy company Energy Transfer, told Global Times on the meeting.
A worker is seen at a factory of the First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Co., Ltd. in Changchun, capital of Northeast China’s Jilin Province, September 1, 2020. Photo: Xinhua
