China will work to attract foreign investment in more sectors of the economy, including advanced manufacturing, high-tech and energy conservation, to spur growth, an official with the country's top economic planner said on Sunday.
According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), a updated national catalog on encouraging foreign investment will be released later this year, as the country strives to expand the range of industries in which foreign businesses can invest and facilitate their financing in the country.
More foreign investors will be welcomed to participate in priority sectors of the Chinese economy like basic manufacturing, applied technology and consumer goods in China's central and western regions, said the official.
This is in line with the pledge the Chinese government made to vigorously encourage foreign investment, during the annual sessions of the national legislature and top political advisory body earlier this month.
"The draft of the catalog now is open for public consultation, with opinions being collected online from various sectors. The current draft contains 1,700 entries, 200 entries more than the 2022 version, which is a significant rise. During the consultation process, we've received over 140 suggestions from all sectors of society. The NDRC and the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments, are now revising the draft based on this feedback, and the updated catalog will be issued as planned later this year," said Jiang Yi, director of the Office of Policy Studies under the NDRC, at a Sunday event on the outcomes of this year's "two sessions" in Beijing.
China to attract foreign investment in more sectors of economy: official
China's consumer goods industry got off to a good start in 2026, with main indicators registering steady growth in the first two months, according to the data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The value added of enterprises above the designated size -- whose annual main business income reaches 20 million yuan (about 2.93 million U.S. dollars) or more -- in this sector increased by 4.8 percent year on year in January and February, accounting for 29.2 percent of the total value added, 3.1 percentage points higher than that of last year. Among the 14 major industry categories, 10 achieved positive growth.
In the two months, these enterprises achieved a business revenue of approximately 5.1 trillion yuan, up 4.4 percent year on year, while the total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 8.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.8 percent.
"The first two months were in the traditional peak consumption season, driving the growth of orders and helping to unleash production capacity in the consumer goods industry. Some emerging consumption patterns, such as experience consumption and trendy toy consumption, grew rapidly, and the supply market showed a diversified growth trend," said Dai Xiaoxia, deputy director of the Institute of Consumer Goods Industry Research of China Center for Information Industry Development.
In terms of foreign trade, exporters above the designated size delivered consumer goods worth around 592.54 billion yuan, up 2.2 percent year on year, with the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, the papermaking and paper products industry registering relatively rapid growth.
China will increase the supply of high-quality products in the consumer goods industry, steadily promoting the intelligent, green and integrated development of the sector.
China's consumer goods industry posts steady growth in first 2 months
