(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-03 17:21

SYDNEY-- China is among the top reformers in the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in removing barriers to investment, boosting greater economic growth in the country, says a research report released here Monday.

"It is the improvement in the investment climate in China compared to other economies that has mattered most for the global pattern of investment," says the report titled "Reducing Behind- the-Border Barriers to Investment", which was drafted by the Center for International Economics, based in Canberra, capital of Australia.

In general, those APEC economies with fewer impediments to doing business and a more favorable investment climate are more prosperous, says the report.

The report identifies behind-the-border barriers to investment as encompassing domestic policies, rules, procedures and laws which may include excessive regulations, unclear property rights and poor legal systems.

The center quotes a World Bank report as saying that the Chinese government sped business entry, increased investor protections and reduced red tape in trading across borders.

China also established a credit information registry for consumer loans. Now 340 million citizens have credit histories, according to the World Bank.

The removal of those barriers to investment in China came on top of a host of other reforms associated with the country's transition to a market economy and accession to the World Trade Organization, says the Australian report.

China has also privatized many State-owned enterprises, strengthened its legal system, spent heavily on infrastructure and moved to strengthen property rights over time, the reports notes.

The report concludes that if investors in APEC economies faced fewer barriers, investment would be higher and of a better quality, economic growth would rise and the incidence of poverty across APEC would fall.