In 2016, the Chinese investment in the United States, the European Union, Australia and other countries and regions hit a new high. This has caught great attention of the regulatory bodies of many countries and regions. Some countries even adopted regulations to tighten restrictions on foreign investment. Concerning the overseas investment in 2017, Sun Jiwen, news spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said at the regular press briefing held on February 9 that, China’s overseas investment is expected to show a trend of “slowdown in stability and a positive development in showdown” in 2017, and China will continuously support enterprises to make “real and legal” overseas investment.

 

Sun said that, China’s overseas investment had a fast increase in 2016 and therefore played an active promoting role in the national economic and industrial transformation and upgrading. At the same time, there are larger fluctuations in the international financial market and more uncertainties in the economic policies of some countries. Some developed countries have established more restrictions and barriers against Chinese investment, especially the investment of Chinese state-owned enterprises. This brings more risks and uncertainties for Chinese enterprises that have made or intend to make investment overseas. “In 2017, it will still be hard to see a recovery of global economy. It is expected that China’s direct overseas investment will show a trend of ‘slowdown in stability and a positive development in showdown’.” Sun said that, for the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will adhere to the overall keynote to seek for progress while maintaining stability and, on the principle of “enterprises playing a dominant role, market operation, international conventions and government’s guidance”, support Chinese enterprises with related capabilities and conditions to carry out real and legal overseas investment activities to participate in the construction of “the Belt and Road”, carry out international cooperation in productivity and integrate into the global industrial chain and value chain.

 

Finally, Sun emphasized that China will combine the improvement of the construction of medium- and long-term overseas investment systems with short-term well-timed regulation to promote the overseas investment facilitation at the same time of preventing from related risks, improving and standardizing market order, further optimizing targets of overseas investment and highlighting the orientation for the real economy and emerging industries to drive a sound and ordered development of overseas investment and make greater contributions to further domestic economic transformation and upgrading and deepened mutually beneficial cooperation between China and other countries in the world. At the same time, China expects to join the hands with the other countries to shoulder the responsibilities and take a clear-cut stand against protectionism, further promote investment facilitation in the process of opening-up and create an opening-up and win-win cooperation mode to realize linked growth and mutual prosperity worldwide.

 

Source: Translated from Invest Guangzhou, February 10, 2017