Premier vows to create transparent, fair market for foreign investors

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (center in the first row) takes a group photo with representatives of 4th Round Table Summit of the Global CEO Council at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Tuesday. LIU ZHEN / CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Premier Li Keqiang has vowed to create a fair, equal and transparent market environment for foreign investors.

The premier made the remarks on Tuesday when meeting the 15 presidents and chief executive officers of multinational corporations attending the Fourth Global CEO Council Round Table Summit, hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

"The Chinese government will take more measures to attract foreign investors by cultivating a market which is more fair, equal and transparent," he told the business leaders.

Li said China is restructuring and upgrading its economy and the service sector and consumption contribute more than half of the nation's economic growth.

He said enormous market potential exists in sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare and sports to provide new opportunities for multinational corporations.

"As the largest developing country, China is undergoing industrialization and urbanization and has great potential to be one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investments."

The 15 business leaders are the heads of Fortune 500 companies such as the German automobile maker Daimler AG, the US sports company Nike, and Finland's telecommunication giant Nokia.

The theme for the summit was the opportunities and challenges for multinational corporations during China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

The consensus of the business leaders was they are facing more opportunities than challenges in China, which is still very appealing to foreign investment. They said, multinational corporations will actively participate in business startups, innovation and the green economy, and work with their Chinese counterparts to raise the level of industrial cooperation and achieve mutual development.

Chen Fengying, a researcher on the global economy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said multinational companies have contributed a lot to China's economic growth and technological upgrading.

"A fair and transparent market in China will boost their investment, which will also push domestic companies to raise their competitiveness in the global market," she said.