简体中文
General Secretary Xi Jinping laid out the country's future vision during the opening of the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress. One of China's basic state policies is to opening up, which is an eye-catching topic in the new vision. In Xi’s report to the national congress, he promised a level playing field for foreign companies and further opening up of the Chinese economy.
"China will adopt policies to promote a high standard of liberalization and facilitation for trade investment, significantly ease market access, further open the service sector and protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors," Xi said.
For about half a million foreign companies doing business in China, this seems to be the reassurance they wanted to hear.
While the general tone is positive, experts said it still remained to be seen what the specific regulations are coming out after the Congress.
"It’s nice to see China’s opening up. It needs to open up because it would have access to more capital," commented by Peter Dixon, Global Financial Economist at Commerzbank.
Xi remarked the opening up again when the newly-elected members of the Standing Committee of the 19th CPC Central Committee Political Bureau met Chinese and foreign journalists on last Wednesday, saying "We will build on momentum of reform and opening up, rejuvenation will become a reality in course of reform and opening up."
"I think the general tone is positive," Yvonne Zhou, Global Partner at Boston Consulting Group, told CGTN, but adding "it also remains to be seen what the specific regulations are [after the Congress]."
And Randal Phillips, Managing Partner for Asia at Mintz Group – a global investigative company, shared a similar opinion.
"The multinational companies were impressed by the Congress’ rolling out. Xi was able to lay out such a clear vision. I think what we are really looking for is [as] now the consolidation is clear, where does Xi want to take China? And what kind of leader does China want to be? Market opening is very important. Now it’s all about result," Phillips added.
VCG Photo
In fact, the past five years have seen major progress in China’s market opening up.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 17.3 percent year-on-year to reach 70.63 billion yuan (10.7 billion US dollars) in September, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.
FDI in the manufacturing sector bounced back while high-tech manufacturing and service industries maintained strong growth momentum.
And Opportunities in China’s financial market are also becoming more noticeable.
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Connect have given global investors the opportunity to directly purchase Chinese mainland stocks. Besides, China’s A shares to be included in the MSCI’s Emerging Markets Index in June this year means funds worth some 1.6 trillion dollars will then be able to buy Chinese stocks for their portfolios.
But skeptics might rain on their parade and point out the disconnection between policy statements and execution, as well as the fact that the opening up part is way down on China's list of priorities.
"I think the next six months would be very important. Do we really see the opening-up being effective? If so, investors would be optimistic," said James Early, CEO of UpWealth.
"Transparency is also important," Zhou stressed, as her multinational clients always focus on whether they can get as equal treatment as China’s companies. "With many sectors which already opened to foreign investment, I think the next step is to create a transparent fair environment for every company, SOE, private company and foreign company alike," Zhou said.
(CGTN)
