(Yicai) Jan. 25 -- More than 60 percent of policy initiatives rolled out last year to attract more foreign investment have either been implemented or are making positive progress, the Minister of Commerce said today.

Ten of last year’s 59 new foreign investment policies have already been implemented, Wang Wentao said at a press conference. This includes the extension of the preferential tax exemption policy for foreign personal allowances and tax rebates for foreign-funded research & development institutions which buy equipment locally until the end of 2027.

An updated permanent residence card for foreigners has been introduced and new guidelines for foreign business people to work and live in China have been released, he added.

Another 28 policies have made phased progress and 21 are continuing to advance, Wang said. This includes the introduction of regulations to regulate and facilitate cross-border data flows.

The State Council issued a statement in July last year urging government bodies to optimize the country’s foreign investment environment and to make more efforts to attract foreign investment.

China’s actual use of foreign capital slumped 8 percent last year from the previous year to CNY1.1 trillion (USD157.4 billion), according to Ministry of Commerce data. Some 53,766 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in the country in 2023, a jump of 40 percent from a year earlier.

This year, the Ministry of Commerce will introduce more measures to support foreign trade, including drawing up a catalog of green and low-carbon products that are imported and exported, accelerating the digitization of international trade documents, and promoting the development of new business formats and new models including cross-border e-commerce and bonded maintenance, he added.

China’s foreign trade development is facing severe challenges, Wang said. The International Monetary Fund expects a slower global economic growth to slump 2.9 percent in 2024, while trade protectionism and the impact of geopolitical conflicts are also intensifying.

However, there are still many favorable conditions for the development of China’s foreign trade, such as the country’s improved manufacturing competitiveness as well as the rapid development of new formats and new models, he added.

China’s imports and exports slumped 5 percent last year from a year earlier to USD5.9 trillion, according to data recently released by the General Administration of Customs. Of this, exports tumbled 4.6 percent to USD3.4 trillion, while imports sank 5.5 percent to USD2.5 trillion.

Editor: Kim Taylor