Foreign investors can gain massively by making use of improved business environment

Foreign investors eyeing China, and those already operating in the country, will find the business environment increasingly friendlier and healthier going forward, industry leaders said.

Business leaders said the government's new measures that weigh foreign investment in the context of national security and industrial security will help foreign investors better understand investment boundaries in China and boost business efficiency.

Their comments refer to China's new measures unveiled on Dec 21 that heralded clarity of purpose, solid policy foundation and a reassurance that projects aligned with national security and other national goals will find tremendous opportunities to thrive in the humongous domestic market.

China, experts said, is on its way to building a more advanced, transparent and international rule-based business environment for global companies.

Such an environment will be sustained over the long-term and anchor the country's economic growth, they said.

The new rules comprising 23 clauses take effect on Monday. Their legal basis is the Foreign Investment Law and the National Security Law.

They will boost China's higher-level opening-up and facilitate the new growth paradigm, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

Business executives said the new measures should not cause any concern as they focus on review of specific investment projects and as such would not have any adverse impact on most overseas investors.

Under the new rules, only those foreign investments that are related to sensitive sectors — the military-related supplies, important agricultural products, important energy and resources, critical equipment manufacturing, major infrastructure, important transport services, important cultural products and services, key technologies and other important fields affecting China's national security — will be subject to security review.

The article is written by Zhong Nan