China to take measures to facilitate foreign investment: PBOC official

China will introduce a number of supportive policies to support foreign-invested companies and the use of foreign funds, which will help stabilize employment, enterprises and markets, said an official of China's central bank on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai.

With the theme of "Financial opening up and cooperation for high-quality development in a changing global economy," the two-day Forum officially opened on Wednesday morning, gathering policymakers, regulators, and financial leaders from over ten countries and regions.

Zhu Hexin, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said that to support the development of foreign trade enterprises, relevant departments will push forward the reform of foreign exchange business management, and a series of facilitation policies will be implemented, including expanding the pilot program of high-level opening up of cross-border trade and optimizing the foreign exchange settlement of comprehensive foreign trade service enterprises.

At the same time, he noted, measures will be taken to facilitate cross-border investment and financing.

"Facilitation policies will be implemented nationwide, such as supporting scientific research institutions to attract and utilize foreign capital, further facilitating cross-border financing for sci-tech enterprises, and reducing the negative list of capital project income and use, to better support international economic and trade cooperation and personnel exchanges. We will promote the policy of integrated domestic and foreign currency cash pooling for multinational corporations across the country to facilitate their collection and use of funds. We will carry out a pilot program for green foreign debt to encourage qualified enterprises to borrow foreign debt for green projects. We will also improve the management of funds for overseas listings of domestic enterprises, unify the domestic and foreign currency management policies, and facilitate the transfer of raised funds back to China for use. In the near future, a new batch of investment quotas for qualified domestic institutional investors (QDII) will be issued to orderly meet the reasonable needs of domestic entities for overseas investment," Zhu said.

In addition, a series of innovative foreign exchange policies will be implemented in the pilot free trade zones, including 10 facilitation policies such as optimizing new international trade settlement and expanding the pilot program of qualified foreign limited partners (QFLP), to actively support the upgrade of the pilot free trade zones, according to the official.

China to take measures to facilitate foreign investment: PBOC official

The Iranian government is focusing on public concerns and maintaining stable supplies of essential goods amid recent protests, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview on Sunday.

In the city of Karaj, northwest of the capital Tehran, daily life has largely continued as normal. A video filmed by a local resident on Sunday shows food stores open and grocery shelves fully stocked.

"This is the block near my home, and there are some food stores here. Daily life continues here. Last night we did not see many protests in Karaj. Right now the city is very safe. This is a grocery store close to my home. All the food is available; nothing is in shortage. Here are noodles and different types of beans. Here are dairy products, cheese, and yogurt. I also checked other grocery stores and didn't see any shortages. Everything is available," said local resident Ali Reza.

Iranian officials have described recent disturbances as acts orchestrated by the "enemy," including some carried out by well-trained and armed "terrorists." The incidents have caused casualties among security personnel and civilians, as well as property damage.

The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has directed authorities to severely punish the "terrorists."

Meanwhile, Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said on Sunday that the police had raised alert levels and arrested several leaders of the troublemakers during the operations on Saturday.

President Pezeshkian noted in the interview that the normal demands of the Iranian people are reasonable and justified, but they must realize that triggering riots and carrying out terrorist acts are the enemy's attempts to undermine the country. He urged the public to remain vigilant.

Also on Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that Tehran would regard U.S. and Israeli bases and facilities in the Middle East as "legitimate targets" if Washington takes military action against Iran. His remarks followed media reports saying U.S. President Donald Trump is "seriously considering authorizing a strike" against Iran.

Iranian state media reported that at least 109 members of Iran's security forces have been killed in clashes since the protests began 14 days ago. Meanwhile, human rights groups based outside the country said the number of protesters killed has exceeded 200, though the figure could not be independently verified.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and sanctions imposed by the United States.

Iranian president says government focusing on ensuring supplies amid protests