Overseas companies hail expanded opening-up

Dassault Systemes is just one of many foreign businesses to benefit from ongoing steps taken by China in the past year to open up its economy.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the country continued to be a hot destination for foreign investment last year, with such inflows growing by 6.3 percent year-on-year to reach 899.38 billion yuan ($129.9 billion) between January and November.

Meanwhile, the country has continued to reiterate its commitment to a level playing field and to create an enabling environment for foreign companies.

The annual tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference last month stressed the importance of promoting all-around opening-up. It also pledged to continue measures to widen market access, promote fair competition and protect intellectual property rights.

Last year, the country reduced the number of items on its negative list for foreign investment from 40 to 33, having cut this list for three consecutive years.

Tommy Wu, lead China economist at think tank Oxford Economics in the United Kingdom, said, "Opening up of the financial sector was substantial in 2020, particularly now that foreign firms are allowed to hold controlling stakes in ventures or branches in China."

He said the industrial and financial sectors in China could benefit from foreign investment, as this is a direct channel to diffuse technology, along with technical and soft skills such as international business practices coming into the country.

"These will generally help China move up the value-added chain, bolstering homegrown technology and innovation, as well as improving global competitiveness of Chinese businesses. It is also in China's interest to embrace multilateralism, to further integrate and be a key player in the global economy," he said.