478.6 billion! China announced the data on the use of foreign capital this year, which strongly refuted the strange theory of ＂foreign capital withdrawal＂

　　[Global Times reporter Ni Hao Global Times correspondent Xin Bin Zhao Dong in Singapore and Germany] According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce of China on the 12th, in the first four months of this year, the actually used foreign capital in China was 478.61 billion yuan, up 20.5% year-on-year. From the source, South Korean, American and German investments in China increased significantly year-on-year, and their actual investments in China increased by 76.3%, 53.2% and 80.4% respectively. This data can be described as a powerful response to the recent comments made by some western media that China’s economy is declining and China’s investment attraction is declining. Many experts said in an interview with Global Times that "the withdrawal of foreign capital from China" has become a normal topic of foreign media speculation. Now the COVID-19 epidemic has indeed brought challenges to the global economy, including China, and the global industrial chain supply chain. However, foreign capital has never given up the China market. As long as foreign capital in China walks through this hurdle together with Chinese and China markets, it will be a bright future, and the foreign investment environment will be better and better.

　　On average, 1.5 large foreign-funded projects land every day.

　　Shu Yuting, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said at a regular press conference on the 12th that since the beginning of this year, China’s absorption of foreign capital has mainly shown three characteristics: First, it has grown rapidly. In the first four months of last year, the actual use of foreign capital in China increased by 38.6% year-on-year. On the basis of last year’s high base, it achieved double-digit growth in the first four months of this year, with a growth rate of 20.5%; Second, the gold content is sufficient, and high-tech industries have played a greater role in attracting investment, with a year-on-year increase of 45.6% from January to April, which is 25.1 percentage points higher than the average growth rate; Third, large projects are stable, and all localities strive to overcome the impact of the epidemic and actively carry out investment promotion. In the first four months of this year, China added 185 large-scale projects with contracted foreign investment of more than 100 million US dollars, which is equivalent to an average of 1.5 large-scale foreign-funded projects landing every day. German Volkswagen, South Korea’s Pohang, American market opener, Japan’s Hitachi and other multinational companies have received good investment in China, which has effectively promoted the rapid growth of China’s foreign investment.

　　L ‘Oré al, the world’s largest cosmetics group, recently announced the establishment of its first investment company in China — — Shanghai meicifang investment co., ltd. L ‘Oré al said that L ‘Oré al China is the only branch of L ‘Oré al Group with an investment company so far. In spite of the epidemic situation, multinational companies still choose Shanghai and expand their investment in China. In this regard, Shu Yiting said that this fully reflects the firm confidence of foreign investors in the economic development prospects of China.

　　Huo Jianguo, vice president of the China World Trade Organization Research Association, told the Global Times reporter on the 12th that since the outbreak, global cross-border investment has fluctuated greatly, but China has maintained steady growth in attracting foreign investment. In 2021, China’s foreign investment reached a record high, exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 1.15 trillion yuan. He believes that China has the most complete industrial chain supply chain in the world, as well as a global super-large-scale consumer market, abundant human resources and the introduction of policies to optimize the business environment, so that foreign investors have always maintained their confidence in China and regarded China as a hot spot for investment.

　　Multiple foreign companies have increased their investment.

　　"This is how much German companies depend on China," the German newspaper Sü ddeutsche Zeitung reported recently. Because of the epidemic situation and geopolitical factors, some companies are looking for alternatives to do business in China. However, the China market is too important for German enterprises, especially the automobile industry. For example, in the first quarter of 2022, Mercedes-Benz still delivered more than 192,000 new cars to customers in China, despite adverse factors such as COVID-19 epidemic and global supply chain shortage. China is the "perfect market" for luxury cars and electric cars.

　　"Abandoning the China market will have a very negative impact," Marcus Kamis, a member of the board of directors of BASF, a German chemical giant, said at the shareholders’ meeting recently that many German activities around the world are closely related to China. BASF has invested 10 billion dollars to build an integrated base in Zhanjiang, Guangdong. In August last year, BASF established a battery material joint venture with China Shanshan Co., Ltd., and BASF held 51% of the shares. BASF predicts that by 2030, the share of China’s business in the world market will increase to over 50%.

　　In January this year, a report released by the German Chamber of Commerce in China and KPMG showed that German enterprises in China are full of confidence in the next year: in 2021, nearly 60% of German enterprises in China will achieve business growth, and more than half of them expect their industries to have better development in Huaneng in 2022. China market is still one of the most important markets for German enterprises in the world. 71% of the enterprises surveyed will continue to increase their investment, and only 4% intend to leave the China market.

　　In addition, other foreign-funded enterprises have also heard news of overweight investment. uob (China) Co., Ltd. recently announced that it has landed in Shanghai Lingang New Area, becoming the first foreign-funded bank to land here; On April 28th, Merck, a German company, announced that it would invest about 100 million euros to accelerate the manufacturing of biopharmaceutical disposable technology products in Wuxi. BMW’s factory in Shenyang Dadong District is being fully expanded, and a brand-new factory in Tiexi District is also under construction. It is planned to open this year … …

　　Give "reassurance" to investment in China

　　A recent article in German Business Daily mentioned that more and more foreigners are leaving China because of China’s strict epidemic prevention measures. Zimmermann, head of German SEB Group Shanghai Branch, said that when the epidemic eased, many people would return to China. According to Business Daily, compared with other growth markets, the China market is highly predictable and stable. It is unlikely that foreign companies will leave China in droves.

　　Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Department of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times reporter that China will open wider and wider, and the foreign investment environment will be better and better, not just on slogans. China’s commitment to attracting foreign investment is being implemented in a down-to-earth manner. China promulgated and implemented a series of laws and regulations such as the Foreign Investment Law, which fundamentally guaranteed the interests of foreign investors and gave them a "reassurance" to invest in China.

　　Huo Jianguo also said that an important reason for foreign investment in China is the certainty of income. The survey shows that the investment income of foreign investors in China in China has increased steadily, and many foreign chambers of commerce have recently expressed their confidence in China’s investment.