A view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai Photo: VCG

In response a media question on China's further plan on expanding opening-up and attracting foreign investment in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao said that whether opening-up or attracting investment, China will not engage in zero-sum games that harm others for self-gain, but rather pursue mutual benefit and common development.

Wang made the remarks during a press conference held on Friday, noting that the work will focus on two main areas - to fully leverage the advantages of China's large market and make it a global opportunity.

China has a population of over 1.4 billion, and in the next decade or so, the middle-income group will exceed 800 million, indicating enormous market potential. "We will vigorously boost consumption, build the 'Buy in China' brand, and stimulate both goods and service consumption," said Wang. 

China will accelerate the development of new productive forces and promote key industries such as AI, biotechnology, and new energy, turning its large market into a global hub for innovation, application, and profit, while simultaneously building a high-standard market system that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized to create a world-class business environment, Wang noted. 

"Many multinational companies have told us that 'investing in China' is not optional, it is a must,'" he added. 

Wang further emphasized that China's super-large market is also an opportunity for foreign companies, noting that foreign-brand sales accounted for one-third of car replacements in the nationwide consumer goods trade-in program.

Wang vowed to further lower market access thresholds while prioritizing the opening-up in the service sector, and expanding pilot opening-up programs in value-added telecom, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and orderly enlarging autonomous opening-up in education and culture.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), China's actual utilized foreign investment totaled more than $720 billion, over 240,000 new foreign-invested enterprises were established, and China's position as a major destination for investment remains solid, said Wang. 

In addition, investment in high-tech industries accounted for more than one-third of the total, a large number of landmark projects in sectors such as automobiles, healthcare, and electronic information were established in China, and the number of regional headquarters and R&D centers of multinational companies increased significantly, he said. 

Moving forward, Wang pledged to continue to optimize relevant services for foreign enterprises, hold effective roundtables, enhance the "Invest in China" brand, and ensure that foreign enterprises are willing to come, stay, and grow, sharing in China's new development opportunities.

Global Times