China vows easier market access for foreign investors

China will provide wider access to its markets and offer greater opportunities for foreign investment, the country's commerce ministry said on Feb 27.

The country will look to unveil more opening-up policies and measures, Zong Changqing, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) told a news briefing.

Zong said the ministry would work with relevant departments to accelerate the revision of two negative lists for foreign investment market access in the pilot free trade zones and nationwide, and unveil the lists as soon as possible.

He said China would remain an important part of the global supply chain and industrial chain, and the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak will only be temporary, noting there was no large-scale supply chain shift-away from the country.

While continuing to contain the epidemic outbreak, the country will increase support for foreign-funded enterprises to help them resume business, especially to industry leaders crucial for the global supply chain, and facilitate production resumption of foreign firms as well as their upstream and downstream firms in the auto and electronics sectors, Zong said.

With the world's largest and full-fledged manufacturing systems, China can provide a complete industrial chain that no other country can provide, and the country's importance to the global supply and industrial chains will remain unchanged, according to Li Xingqian, another MOC official.

Li said the industry chain would be further boosted as the effects of the country's foreign trade-supportive policies gradually filter through.