China remains popular destination for foreign investment: ministry

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- China will remain a popular destination for foreign investment, due to economic stability, market potential and further opening up, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

The remarks were made by MOC spokesman Gao Feng at a press conference, commenting on the influence of U.S. tax cuts on China's foreign investment.

"Tax policy is an important factor in investment decisions, but it is not necessarily a decisive one," he said. "Economic stability, market potential and business environment of the target country are also important factors for investors to consider."

Gao said the U.S. tax cuts, together with its monetary policy shift, might have a certain impact on global capital flows, and that some economies had expressed concerns over the spillover effect of U.S. policy, including domestic capital flight and difficulties in attracting foreign investment.

"We hope the recent concerns of certain economies will not come true, and we always believe that world economic growth requires stronger policy coordination between all economies," he said.

With today's highly globalized economy and integrated industries, development should not and cannot be equivalent to the development of one economy.

"We expect common development that is mutually beneficial to all economies, and we will continue to make our own efforts," said Gao. "China will never stop opening up, it will only open door wider."

The spokesperson stressed that China would push forward reforms, further ease market access and improve services for foreign enterprises.

China implemented a revised foreign investment catalogue earlier this year, which relaxed restrictions on foreign investment in a number of industries.

Next year, a negative list approach to market entry, which states the sectors and businesses that are off limits to foreign investment, will be expanded nationwide. Enditem