Foreign investment welcome

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia on March 28, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

A recent anti-monopoly campaign launched by the Chinese government has raised concerns about whether protectionism will rise in China.

However, President Xi Jinping highlighted at the just-concluded Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference that China's policy on the use of foreign investment, its protection of the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors, and its efforts to offer better services to foreign enterprises will not change, and this should dispel such misgivings.

Developed countries suffered a decline in their inward Foreign Direct Investment in 2014, but China still witnessed a moderate 3 percent growth. The number of newly established foreign-funded ventures in China amounted to 23,778, increasing by 4.4 percent. All these figures are the best indication that foreign capital continues to flow into China.

China does not pursue protectionism and it will continue encouraging the inflow of foreign investment. The establishment of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the decision to set up free trade zones in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian, and ongoing efforts to push forward the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road all mean that China is opening wider to the outside world.

Yet that does not mean indiscriminate acceptance of foreign investments. China welcomes investments that can benefit its green, healthy, sustainable development while keeping those that do the opposite. The anti-monopoly campaign is aimed at creating a healthier environment for foreign investments, not to discourage them.

The above is an abridgement of a People's Daily article published on March 31.