Premier Li Keqiang yesterday played down fears among multinationals that Beijing's anti-monopoly probes were targeting foreign companies, reassuring them that market access would be further eased. Meeting leaders from multinationals including Alcoa and Saudi Aramco, who will be attending the three-day World Economic Forum that opens in Tianjin today, Li said that while the mainland economy had shown more signs of slowdown, the central government would not pursue massive stimulus policies and its monetary policy would remain prudent. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China called yesterday for "a resolute implementation" of Beijing's pledged reforms in a bid to establish a fair playing field for foreign companies. Last week, the American Chamber of Commerce in China criticised the "selective and subjective enforcement" of anti-monopoly, IT security and other regulations that made foreign companies feel targeted. The complaints came after Beijing launched antitrust probes into multinational firms from Microsoft to Audi, fuelling concerns of a deteriorating foreign investment climate. Li, in response to a question, said: "I myself feel concerned why you have such worries." "We hope that foreign investors feel willing and relaxed" to enter the Chinese market, he said. "Only about 10 per cent of companies under the anti-monopoly probes are foreign." The anti-monopoly moves were aimed at creating a fairer environment for all kinds of businesses, and the authorities would continue to crack down on the theft of business secrets and the production of fake goods, he said. "I think it's very positive", Mumbai-based Sunjewels managing director Kapil Nevatia told the South China Morning Post . "It's a candid conversation with Premier Li, giving us lots of confidence to do things in China." He said his request to Li "would be to reduce the import duties into China" for new materials manufactured abroad for making jewellery. Li reiterated that developed nations should relax restrictions on exporting hi-tech products to China, saying the limits partly caused the recent decline in imports, which would ultimately also hurt Chinese exports. An economic growth rate that was "a bit higher or lower" than the annual target of "about 7.5 per cent" would be acceptable, as long as the job market remained stable, and development was efficient, Li said. M2, a gauge of money supply, expanded 12.6 per cent at the end of last month, Li said, slower than July's 13.5 per cent.
