China seeks foreign investors with ‘long-term vision’, senior economic official says

Han Wenxui, a senior figure in the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, tells a forum that the country is committed to opening up

Han also identifies ‘external pressure’ and the country’s ageing population as two major threats to further development

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China set a growth target of “around 5 per cent” for this year, one of the lowest in decades. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:50pm, 25 Mar 2023Updated: 9:08pm, 25 Mar 2023

China is open to investment from all over the world, and is offering foreign businesses the opportunity to catch “big fish” if they “deeply engage” in the domestic market, a senior economic official said on Saturday.

Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the General Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, made the comments while addressing a forum in Beijing, where he also identified external pressure and the country’s ageing population as the main barrier to the country’s development.

He told the China Development Forum that the country would continue to expand market access and promote the “institutional opening up” of rules, regulations and standards.

“We welcome companies from all over the world to invest in China, and we expect foreign investors to develop a long-term vision and be deeply engaged in the Chinese market, so they can cast a long line to catch a big fish,” Han said, according to the Chinese media outlet Caixin’s report.

The China Development Forum is an annual event organised by the State Council’s Development Research Centre. This year’s conference was the first to be held offline since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Han said China was a hotspot for overseas investors, attracting US$189 billion in foreign capital last year compared with US$144 billion in 2020 – a figure he described as the best example of foreign investors’ confidence in the country.