Since 2023, China has continued to promote the reform of the foreign investment system and the level of utilization of foreign investment has continued to improve. Data released by the Ministry of Commerce on November 17 showed that from January to October 2023, 41,947 new foreign-invested enterprises were established across the country, a year-on-year increase of 32.1%. Multinational companies are generally optimistic about China's development prospects and are willing to develop in China for the long term.

Data show that from January to October 2023, 41,947 new foreign-invested enterprises were established across the country, a year-on-year increase of 32.1%. The actual amount of foreign capital used nationwide was 987.01 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.4%.

Despite fluctuations in some indicators, foreign investment in China remains unabated. The actual investment in China from Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands increased by 110.3%, 94.6%, 90%, 66.1%, and 33% respectively year-on-year.

From an industry perspective, the actual amount of foreign capital used in the manufacturing industry was 283.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%. Among them, the actual use of foreign investment in high-tech manufacturing increased by 9.5% year-on-year. The actual amount of foreign capital used in the service industry was 672.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 15.9%. The actual use of foreign capital in the construction industry, R&D and design services increased by 30% and 15.9% respectively year-on-year.

The Ministry of Commerce stated that due to factors such as the continued downturn in global cross-border direct investment and the high base for the same period in 2022, the scale of foreign direct investment attracted by China has declined, but is still at a historically high level.

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission have respectively released positive signals to increase efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment. The Ministry of Commerce stated that it will further investigate possible regulations and measures that discriminate against foreign-invested enterprises and continue to optimize the business environment. In addition, the ministries of commerce of China and the United States will actively implement the consensus reached in the new round of China-US economic and trade dialogue and create a good environment for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. In terms of relaxing foreign investment access, the National Development and Reform Commission revealed that it will work with relevant departments to promote the reasonable reduction of the negative list for foreign investment access, and on the basis of existing policies, accelerate the introduction of comprehensive policies and measures to attract more foreign investment.

Experts said that judging from the data of the first 10 months, the growth rate of foreign investment has slowed down due to the impact of the international situation. Stabilizing foreign companies and attracting foreign investment will be important tasks in the future. The active voice of the two departments effectively illustrates China's insistence on opening up to the outside world and further proves that China is a staunch defender and main promoter of economic globalization. It is of great significance for attracting foreign investment and establishing a good international image.