Foreign Investment Roundtable of the Ministry of Commerce: "Trade-in" of automobiles with equal treatment for domestic and foreign investment

Our reporter Suo Hanxue reports from Beijing

Sincere, efficient and unrestricted communication has become the norm for the roundtable of foreign-funded enterprises of the Ministry of Commerce.

On the issue of improving the business environment, the Chinese government departments not only listen to the demands of foreign-funded enterprises face-to-face, but also propose solutions and introduce supporting policies in the first place.

At a recent "Roundtable Meeting on Foreign-funded Enterprises" hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, a reporter from China Business News noticed that the name of each government department representative was marked in English to facilitate questions and communication between foreign representatives on the other side of the roundtable.

When the person in charge of a foreign-funded automobile enterprise mentioned whether domestic and foreign-funded enterprises can get the same treatment in the equipment renewal market, the Ministry of Commerce immediately said: "Promote the renewal of equipment in the automotive field, coordinate and support the trade-in of automobiles, and introduce policies in the whole chain and each link, and treat domestic capital, foreign capital, local and foreign countries equally, and the purchase of new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles can enjoy preferential policies." ”

In the past year, the scene of face-to-face communication between foreign-funded enterprises and government departments and on-the-spot answering questions has gradually become the norm.

Up to now, the Ministry of Commerce has held 24 roundtable meetings for foreign-funded enterprises, with more than 600 foreign-funded enterprises and foreign business associations participating in the meeting. In accordance with the deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, in July 2023, the Ministry of Commerce upgraded and established a roundtable system for foreign-funded enterprises relying on the foreign trade and foreign investment coordination service mechanism, and further strengthened the normalized communication and exchanges with foreign-funded enterprises and foreign business associations.

There is no limit to the round tables

In the first quarter of 2024, the scale of foreign investment attracted by China reached more than 300 billion yuan, but it was not as good as the same period in 2023. In the same period last year, the scale of investment in mainland China hit a record high in the quarter. Compared with the same period last year, the scale of investment in the first quarter of this year has shrunk.

It is gratifying that in the first quarter of this year, the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises in the mainland reached 12,000, an increase of 20.7% compared with the same period last year, continuing the strong growth momentum of newly established enterprises since last year.

Foreign investment usually covers the entire process from the signing of the project to the registration of the company to the final completion and commissioning, which means that the inflow of foreign capital will continue with the progress of the project construction.

"In this process, foreign investment will continue to arrive with the progress of project construction, so it is common for data to fluctuate. The growth of the number of newly established enterprises has a certain role as a weather vane, which will form a certain support for future capital arrivals. Ji Xiaofeng, head of the Foreign Investment Management Department of the Ministry of Commerce, recently told reporters at a press conference of the State Council Information Office.

China's continuously improving business environment is an important attraction for foreign companies.

In several roundtable meetings attended by reporters, representatives of government departments listened to the opinions of foreign-funded enterprises, including problems encountered in production, as well as inquiries about policies, as well as suggestions given by foreign enterprises from their own interests. Even down to the details of how imported goods are labeled.

In addition to the roundtable meeting without "rules and regulations" to encourage enterprises to speak freely, it also implements ledger management after the meeting to continuously track and promote the solution of problems reflected by enterprises.

A foreign-funded car company conducted a number of policy consultations on second-hand cars, and finally suggested: "Guaranteed imported cars and domestically produced foreign brand cars can enjoy the same preferential policies." ”

A person from the Ministry of Commerce responded on the spot: "The residual value assessment of used cars for new energy vehicles, these problems, we actually have some corresponding statements in the action plan for equipment renewal, and there are some problems, and we are also actively promoting research." He replied categorically: "We treat domestic, foreign, and local and foreign enterprises equally. ”

It is understood that since 2024, the Ministry of Commerce has held 9 related meetings, including roundtables held overseas to communicate with foreign-funded enterprises in Germany, France and Denmark, as well as roundtables held in China with the theme of medicine, consumer goods and other fields.

Establish an inventory ledger

Not only for the central government's policies, but also in the process of regional investment, foreign-funded enterprises can also consult the investment policy at the first time.

"Since last year, we have relied on roundtable meetings and other activities to continue to interpret comprehensive policies such as the '24 Measures for Foreign Investment', the new Action Plan for Attracting Foreign Investment issued by the General Office of the State Council, special policies such as cross-border data flow and environmental protection, and regional opening-up policies such as the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, so that foreign enterprises can have a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the mainland's major policies and policy measures, and fully grasp the new opportunities for investment in China. Ji Xiaofeng said.

Local government officials will also participate in the roundtable, and a local government representative who has participated in the roundtable told reporters: "We will give answers to preferential tax policies on the spot, and the market supervision department will ensure that some compliance projects can be implemented quickly." ”

"Fast landing is an important commitment of government departments to attract investment. He said that for questions that could not be answered on the spot, "the representative of the Ministry of Commerce will also say that he will 'take back' the problems encountered and discuss the research."

In addition, according to the pain points and difficulties reflected by foreign-funded enterprises at the roundtable, the Ministry of Commerce has established a list of problems and will continue to promote solutions in conjunction with relevant departments.

Since the establishment of the roundtable system, various departments have been promoted to introduce a number of measures to benefit enterprises, including facilitating the arrival of foreign personnel in China, clarifying the requirements for cross-border data flow, and extending the preferential policy of subsidies and tax exemption for foreign individuals in accordance with relevant national regulations.

"In the next step, the Ministry of Commerce will further play the role of the roundtable system for foreign-funded enterprises, and build the roundtable into an important platform for frank communication, pragmatic exchanges and problem solving between the government and enterprises. Ji Xiaofeng said.

Strengthen the sense of service

Recently, A.T. Kearney released the 2024 Global FDI Confidence Index, and China's ranking jumped from 7th last year to 3rd, which reflects the willingness of multinational companies to continue to expand their investment in China.

In the first quarter of this year, the actual use of foreign investment in the mainland's manufacturing industry reached 81.06 billion yuan, of which the investment in high-tech manufacturing reached 37.76 billion yuan, accounting for 2.3 and 2.2 percentage points of investment in the country compared with the same period last year, and the growth of investment in some advanced manufacturing fields is also relatively fast, such as the medical equipment manufacturing industry, which increased by 169.7% year-on-year, fully showing the continuous optimization of China's investment structure.

The basic trend of China's economic recovery and long-term improvement has not changed.

"With the continuous advancement of the development of new productive forces in the mainland, as well as the continuous emergence of a series of policies to stabilize the economy, promote opening up, and attract foreign investment, the conditions and environment for the development of foreign investment in China will become better and better. Ji Xiaofeng said.

Recently, the "24 Measures for Foreign Investment" supporting measures have been continuously implemented, such as policies to promote cross-border data flow and optimize payment services, which have been widely praised by foreign-funded enterprises.

"In the next step, we will continue to promote the implementation of the '24 Articles for Foreign Investment', re-evaluate the implementation of the policy in a timely manner, and truly transform the policy measures into a real sense of gain for foreign-funded enterprises. Ji Xiaofeng said.

It is understood that the Ministry of Commerce will shorten the negative list for foreign investment access, completely abolish the restrictions on access to the manufacturing sector, and relax market access for medical care, telecommunications, and other service industries.

Ji Xiaofeng said: "We will give full play to the role of the special team for key foreign-funded projects, make good use of the roundtable meeting of foreign-funded enterprises and the collection and handling system of foreign-funded enterprises' problems, communicate frankly and pragmatically with foreign-funded enterprises, and solve the difficult problems reflected by enterprises in a timely manner." ”

(Editor: Hao Cheng Review: Zhang Rongwang Proofreader: Yan Jingning)