China stresses foreign investment in developing real economy

BEIJING - More sectors will be open to foreign investment, an important stimulus for China's real economy, the Ministry of Commerce has said.

In 2017 a larger share of capital inflow will be directed to high-end manufacturing, a key part of the real economy, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said at a national commerce work conference concluding Tuesday.

Investment access restrictions will be lowered for general manufacturing as well, he added.

Foreign investment will also highlighted in the development of a modern service industry, as the country opens its finance and telecommunication service sectors in an orderly fashion, Gao said.

Developing the real economy will be a major feature of the country's efforts to go global next year, with more investment for technical and managerial expertise.

The country's foreign direct investment, excluding investment in the financial sector, is likely to be around 785 billion yuan ($126 billion) this year, with 70 percent of the inflow going to the service sector, official estimates show.

To attract more foreign investment, Gao called for repeating the success of free trade zones, which have fewer investment restrictions.