On February 12, at the press conference on business work and operation in 2018, it was learned that the actual use of foreign capital in China last year was 885.6 billion yuan, equivalent to 135 billion US dollars, an increase of 3%, and the global cross-border investment fell by 19%. Contrarian growth. For the business work focus in 2019, Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming said that it will promote the construction of the Pilot Free Trade Zone and explore free trade ports, expand all-round opening, and promote the transformation of commodity and factor flow-oriented openness to rules and other institutional openness.
Prior to this, Assistant Minister of Commerce Ren Hongbin said at the press conference of the State Council that the construction of a free trade pilot zone is a milestone in the process of China's reform and opening up. The Ministry of Commerce will thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference. The decision-making arrangements of the Central Committee and the State Council will push the construction of the free trade pilot zone and explore the free trade port with Chinese characteristics in a step-by-step manner.
Ren Hongbin revealed that in 2019, the Ministry of Commerce will explore the construction of a free trade port with Chinese characteristics, promote the establishment of a new area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and plan development, further reduce the special management measures for foreign investment access in the Pilot Free Trade Zone, and further promote the introduction of research. The free trade pilot zone expands the policy measures of openness and innovation, and strives to form more high-quality, replicable and expandable experiences to promote related work and promote the formation of a new level of open-ended economic new structure.
Tang Wenhong, director of the Foreign Investment Department of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the revision of the catalogue for foreign investment in the industry has been initiated, and foreign investment will be directed to modern agriculture, advanced manufacturing, high-tech, modern service industries and other fields to promote the high-quality development of China's economy. Improve the investment promotion service system, and guide local governments to combine the characteristics of local regional development, including the important role of the free trade pilot zone and the national economic and technological development zones, and carry out more targeted, efficient and professional investment promotion activities. In addition, the dialogue and exchanges will be strengthened, and the problems reflected by foreign-funded enterprises will be promptly responded to. The revision process of the Patent Law will be accelerated, and the NPC is now deliberating.
Tang Wenhong also introduced that in 2019, the Ministry of Commerce should fully implement the opening measures announced by China at the first import fair and the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, continue to relax market access, and comprehensively implement the pre-entry national treatment plus negative list. The management system has continuously increased the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors. The new foreign investment law has also made a series of regulations to create a world-class foreign investment environment.
Qian Keming pointed out that in 2019, the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference will be thoroughly implemented, and the eight-character policy of “consolidating, enhancing, upgrading and smoothing” of supply-side structural reforms will be implemented, and the three major battles will be continued, and the requirements of the “six stables” will be implemented. We will do a good job of "promoting two stables and three priorities", promote the formation of a strong domestic market, expand all-round opening, promote the building of a strong economic and trade country, accelerate the development of high-quality business, and greet the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China with outstanding results.