China to provide fertile soil for foreign investment

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's government work report to the national legislature on Thursday has not only revealed the blueprint for China's development in the year to come, but also showed the government's willingness to make easer access for foreign investors.

Addressing the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress, Li said that China will provide easier market access for foreign investment by loosening regulation.

To further open up China's market, Beijing will cut in half the number of fields in service and manufacturing industries, in which foreign investment has been restricted.

The premier promised a "stable, fair, transparent and predictable" business environment, announcing that China will revise the Catalogue for the Guidance of Industries for Foreign Investment to further ensure that domestic and foreign companies be treated as equals.

From the relaxing of regulation to the removal of market barriers, China promises a higher degree of openness and demonstrates its willingness to provide foreign investors with more opportunities in the world's second-largest economy.

In his report, the premier set the economic growth target at around 7 percent for 2015, the lowest level since 2004.

The slowdown is not bad news for foreign investors but opportunities for them to get involved in China's sustainable and quality economic growth.

The current Chinese leadership has vowed to change the country's economic structure heavily driven by exports and investment to one driven also by consumption. Foreign investors, therefore, can benefit from a consumer market with huge potential.

In order to attract foreign investment, Li said that China will advance talks on free trade areas and on investment pacts with the Gulf Cooperation Council members and Israel, and continue negotiations on investment agreements with the United States and the European Union.

According to statistics, in 2014, foreign direct investment in China topped the world with $119.6 billion and the number of new foreign-funded companies increased by 5.76 percent to hit 38,400.

The high-speed expansion of China's economy in the past years has allowed foreign investors to reap handsome returns from their investment. In the year ahead, they will harvest more, for sure.