On November 5, visitors will check out AstraZeneca's exhibition area at the 2022 China International Import Expo in Shanghai. China has tightened its policy support for foreign investment and caters to the demands of international firms in recent years, according to a recent development.
These robust efforts send clear and resounding signals of the nation's commitment to further open up, cementing its position as one of the world's most appealing consumer and manufacturing markets.
China's state council on 13 August unveiled measures containing 24 specific measures to optimize China's foreign investment environment and beef up foreign investment inflow.
These measures include expanding pilot areas to broaden services, encouraging foreign firms and R&D centers to execute major science-tech projects, facilitating the travel of senior executives, technicians and their families, and enhancing the expertise of personnel in local government offices handling foreign investment.
According to the guidelines, foreign firms must participate in setting standards in a law-based and fair way and develop globally leading products in China.
These measures address specific concerns of foreign firms and highlight the focus of China's further reform and opening-up, said Nie Pingxiang, a researcher at the Ministry of Commerce's think tank.
The measures reflect the country's constant commitment to a more market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. earlier this year, China enacted policies to boost foreign trade, broaden institutions, and encourage foreign firms to set up R&D centers in China.
The MOC will work with the relevant departments to narrow down the country's negative list for foreign investment. In the meantime, China will continue to ease restrictions on foreign strategic investment in listed companies in listed companies, said Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce.
China has managed to maintain foreign investment relatively steady despite a sluggish global economy.
China saw a 35.7 percent increase in the number of new foreign companies in the first half of the year, despite a slight dip in real utilized foreign investment. In particular, real-technology manufacturing operations utilized foreign investment flowing to the high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 28.8 percent from a year ago.
The MOC has called on 2023 to be Invest in China Year, featuring over 20 foreign investment-related events, such as the China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services and China International Fair for Investment and Trade.
We are very pleased to see the State Council's latest policy to optimize the foreign investment environment and increasing efforts to attract foreign investment, especially the clear mention of accelerating the landing and operation of foreign investment projects in the field of biopharmaceuticals, said Leon Wang, executive vice-president and international and China president of AstraZeneca.
Upbeat on the potential of China's innovative biopharmaceutical industry, the UK-based worldwide pharmaceutical company inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Qingdao National High-tech Industrial Development Zone located in East China's Shandong province.
As part of the MOU, AstraZeneca will invest another $250 million in its Qingdao pMDI inhalation manufacturing and supply site.
In a statement, Wang said AstraZeneca will continue to remain faithful to its original intent and actively pursue development in China.