BEIJING, September 4 (People’s Daily Online)—“We continue to be encouraged by the promised reform contained in last year’s Third Plenum pronouncements and initiatives,” said Chairman of AmCham China Gregory Gilligan at a media roundtable on September 2, 2014. He also hoped that China’s reform will be more transparent and fair.

Recently, China launched anti-trust probes into the well-known multi-national companies such as Microsoft Corp, Qualcomm Inc, which has raised the concerns among some foreign companies operating in China. A survey by the AmCham China showed that 60 percent of the respondents felt less welcome in China than before.

In response to the increasing concerns of foreign companies, the Chinese authorities make it clear that the anti-trust investigations are not used as protectionist tools favoring domestic companies. In fact, China has also punished some domestic companies for their monopolistic activities since the implementation of the anti-trust laws. For example, a huge fine of 449 million yuan(73.2 million dollars)was imposed on China's two top liquor makers, Kweichow Moutai and Wuliangye Yibin Group, last year.

AmCham China called on its member companies to abide by the laws and regulations. AmCham China also expressed the hope that China’s reform will be more transparent and fair. It believes that the unification of the foreign and domestic capital laws and regulations is one way to ensure a fair playing field for foreign companies that will bring healthy competition to the domestic economy.

AmCham China supports other reforms directly addressing foreign investment outlined in the third plenum, including pre-establishment national treatment and negative list, further opening of certain service sectors to foreign investment and the establishment of the Shanghai FTZ. AmCham China embraced China’s new policies and provided a series of constructive suggestions on the reforms in 15 industries such as agriculture, automotive industry, business process outsourcing, civil aviation, commercial banking.

Discussions on reform have generated optimism in the foreign business community. “We still believe that US companies in particular have a great deal to offer in the services sector so crucial to the economy’s transformation and look forward to continuing dialogue with the Chinese government on finding ways to help the economy rebalance as efficiently as possible,” said Gilligan.