At a State Council Information Office press conference on July 23, the Vice Minister of Commerce, Yan Dong, reported that the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises in the first half of the year grew by 5.3%, with utilized foreign capital reaching 402.14 billion yuan. The structure of foreign investment continued to improve, with high-tech industries seeing a 33.2% increase in capital attraction, raising their share to 42.4%. Foreign investors remain bullish on the Chinese market, as nearly 4,800 foreign-funded enterprises increased their investment in China during the period.
Meng Huating, Director of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration at the Ministry of Commerce, stated that in the second half of the year, the ministry will continue to aim for stable and improved utilization of foreign capital. Efforts will focus on shaping new advantages for attracting foreign investment, increasing the scale of new investments, maintaining existing investments, and enhancing quality. Key actions include accelerating the revision and issuance of regulations on mergers and acquisitions of domestic enterprises by foreign investors, as well as introducing measures to support foreign-funded enterprises in further expanding localized production.
Absorbed Foreign Investment Stabilizes and Improves
"In the first half of this year, the actual use of foreign capital reached 402.14 billion yuan, with both May and June achieving positive year-on-year growth, indicating a trend of stabilization and improvement," Meng Huating said. Regarding how to further shape new advantages for attracting foreign investment in the second half of the year, Meng noted that in terms of expanding new investments, the ministry will continue to implement high-level opening-up. It will prudently and orderly deepen pilot openings in sectors such as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and vocational skills training institutions. Support will be provided to enhance the construction level of Beijing's national comprehensive service industry demonstration zone. The revision and issuance of regulations on foreign investors' mergers and acquisitions of domestic enterprises will also be accelerated. The "Invest in China" brand will be continuously promoted, with a series of carefully designed investment promotion activities.
In terms of stabilizing existing investments, the Ministry of Commerce will implement tax incentive policies for foreign investors reinvesting their profits from operations in China. Measures will be introduced to support foreign-funded enterprises in further expanding localized production, helping existing enterprises operate and develop well. Service guarantees will be optimized, with further utilization of the key foreign-funded project task forces at all levels of commerce authorities. The national treatment of foreign-funded enterprises will be effectively guaranteed, particularly by removing various hidden barriers to ensure that foreign enterprises can "enter and operate smoothly."
On the quality front, the Ministry of Commerce will implement the encouraged foreign investment industry catalog to guide foreign capital towards advanced manufacturing sectors like organic polymer materials and high-efficiency energy-saving magnetic suspension power equipment, as well as modern service industries such as humanoid robot R&D and modern high-end shipping services. Foreign investment will be encouraged to flow more into central, western, and northeastern regions. Measures will be introduced to encourage foreign investment in the service industry to move towards integration and digitalization, promoting productive services to extend towards professionalization and high-end sectors, and upgrading life services in quality. Support policies for foreign-funded R&D centers will be further improved, facilitating the introduction of more high-level foreign talent, increasing support for the transformation of innovation achievements, and adding new momentum to high-quality economic development.
Promoting Quality and Beneficial Service Consumption
"Service consumption is both a 'stabilizer' for current consumption recovery and a 'main engine' for future consumption growth," Yan Dong stated. Next, the Ministry of Commerce will implement the "15th Five-Year Plan for Expanding Consumption," leveraging its leading role in the service consumption work mechanism. Efforts will be made from four aspects to promote quality and beneficial service consumption. Specifically, Yan indicated that potential will be tapped and domains expanded to accelerate the cultivation of new growth points. Recently, the ministry, along with other departments, has issued policy documents on integrating railway and tourism, promoting high-quality development of the domestic service industry, and cultivating new growth points for service consumption like the auto aftermarket. The ministry will ensure these are implemented. It will also further innovate support measures around segmented fields such as transportation, performances, and events, encouraging local governments to actively explore effective paths for cultivating new growth points in service consumption.
Scenes will be revitalized to innovate diverse service experiences. Yan Dong said efforts will be intensified to promote pilot projects for new business forms, models, and scenes in consumption. This will foster integration of service consumption formats, scene innovation, and industrial agglomeration, creating a number of new consumption scenarios with broad influence and high visibility. New supply will create new demand, and new scenes will activate new consumption. Hotspots will be cultivated to continuously release consumption potential. Yan Dong mentioned continuing to host brand events like the "Service Consumption Season" and the "Chinese Food Festival," organizing special activities such as domestic service consumption seasons, food carnivals, and outdoor sports seasons. Focusing on consumer needs for summer vacations, family activities, travel, and domestic services, the ministry will guide lifestyle service platform enterprises to create an "August 8 Service Consumption Festival" through market-oriented means. The goal is to use activities to drive popularity, use popularity to gather business momentum, promote online and offline integration, and achieve digital empowerment, quality improvement, and public benefit.
Barriers will be broken down and obstacles cleared to fully stimulate market vitality. Yan Dong said that restrictive measures in the service consumption field will be eliminated, attracting more foreign and private capital to invest in service consumption. The standard system for service consumption will be improved, and revisions to key area standards will be advanced, using standardization to lead and enhance service quality.
Stabilizing Exports and Expanding Imports
Discussing the foreign trade situation, Yang Tao, Director of the Department of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce, stated that in the first half of the year, China's total goods trade import and export volume reached 25.5 trillion yuan, a record high for the same period, with a year-on-year increase of 16.9%. On a monthly basis, the single-month import and export scale from March to June continuously exceeded the 4 trillion yuan mark. The pace of foreign trade development is stable, the momentum is good, and the foundation is solid. "Looking ahead, the global economic and trade environment is complex and changeable. The International Monetary Fund recently predicted that global trade growth in 2026 will slow from 5% in 2025 to 3.5%. Foreign trade development still faces many uncertain and unpredictable factors," Yang Tao said. Next, the Ministry of Commerce will unswervingly expand high-level opening-up, stabilize exports, and expand imports with more practical policies and measures, as well as more convenient service guarantees, particularly promoting innovative and balanced trade development.
Regarding expanding imports, Yang Tao indicated that China's active expansion of imports is a strategic move that follows historical trends and is rooted in the new development concept. It is committed to mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, and long-term progress with other countries. Next, the Ministry of Commerce will continue to polish the "Exported from China" brand, adhere to a dual-wheel drive of "policies plus activities," and steadily advance various activities with all parties. It will actively respond to the appeals and suggestions of various countries and enterprises, continuously optimize import promotion measures, and persistently release policy dividends from import expansion.