China will work to provide a better policy environment to attract foreign investment, a senior government official said on Saturday, underlining efforts to turn around a slower investment inflow during a global economic downturn.
Ma Kai, a state councillor, also said China would improve the regulatory system governing mergers and acquisitions by foreign companies as well as the mechanism for anti-monopoly assessment of foreign investment
“We will try to further improve the government efficiency, continue to secure the legitimate rights of foreign investors and implement stricter regulation relating to intellectual property right protection,” Ma told a trade and investment forum in Xiamen city.
Foreign direct investment in China has eased over past months, reflecting waning appetite among investors because of the global downturn and a more cautious outlook on the world’s second largest economy, which has slowed for the sixth straight quarter in the three months to the end of June.
China drew $66.7 billion in foreign direct investment from January to July, down 3.6 percent from the same period the previous year, largely because of falling capital inflows from debt-ridden European countries.
A European business lobby said on Thursday a failure to make much needed market access reforms could put at risk sustained growth of China’s state-led economy.
The Asian Century Report 