China to Open Wider to Overseas Investments

China will continue to open wider to overseas investment and a series of new policies will soon be promulgated to encourage foreign investors to enter more industries in the country.

This was disclosed by Xie Shusheng, chairman of the China Association for Overseas Investment, at a recent business forum held in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province in southwest China.

Under the new policies, China will further relax control over overseas investments in the retail sector, according to Xie. Since 1992, overseas investors have engaged in more than 200 retail businesses in a number of Chinese cities.

According to him, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation is renewing its policies which are expected to be more favorable for overseas business people to cooperate with their Chinese partners in dealing in foreign trade business. Overseas investors will be allowed to play a bigger role in the country's foreign trade business, Xie said.

Beginning this year, foreign banks have been allowed to open branches in any Chinese cities, and to deal in Renminbi (the Chinese currency) business in Shenzhen City of Guangdong Province in southern China, in addition to Shanghai in the east.

With the establishment of four more foreign insurance companies in China this year, the government is considering to allow to overseas insurers to do business in Shenzhen, Chongqing, Dalian and Tianjin. At present, only Shanghai and Guangzhou are opened to overseas insurance companies.
Xie disclosed that the Chinese government is also considering to allow foreign accountants and lawyers to open offices in the country.

Earlier this year, China gave the green light to foreign travel agencies for setting up joint ventures with Chinese partners.