GUANGZHOU will produce a series of policies to compensate foreign investors for the cancellation of tariff exemptions by April, according to the director of the city's Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Commission, Tan Kechen.
In Hong Kong yesterday he said that Guangzhou was considering allowing foreign investors the same treatment as domestic enterprises in relation to land use rights, raw material supplies, social insurance, and charges for electricity and water.
This was intended to compensate foreign investors for the scrapping of tariff exemptions on imported equipment effective from April 1, he said.
'While China will move toward national treatment, Guangzhou also needs to take the initiative to introduce national treatment in other aspects and allow foreign investors to enjoy the same rights of local enterprises,' Mr Tan said.
He said the government had yet to come up with a concrete plan and details for the policies, which would be revealed in April at the municipal government's trade fair in Hong Kong.
The government was considering relaxing controls on domestic sales for joint ventures, he said.
Only 30 per cent of the products of a foreign-invested factory can now be sold in China.
