China hits target of attracting 700 bln USD of FDI during 2021-25: official

China has achieved its goal of attracting 700 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.

At a press conference in Beijing on Friday, Wang highlighted that China's foreign trade has remained robust and resilient despite various pressures throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

"China ranked first in trade in goods globally, with its international market share of exports and imports remaining stable at 14 percent and 10 percent respectively. The country ranked second in trade in services, surpassing the one trillion U.S. dollar mark for the first time last year. The quality of the country's foreign investment also saw improvement. The cumulative foreign investment into the country exceeded the target of 700 billion U.S. dollars set for the 14th Five-Year Plan," said Wang.

"The appeal of investing in China keeps on shining, and the investment structure continues to improve. International cooperation in industrial and supply chains is progressing in an orderly manner, with the average growth rate of foreign investment exceeding 5 percent annually, placing China among the top three globally. The overall volume of outbound contract projects increased steadily. China signed multiple memorandums of cooperation regarding the industrial and supply chains with Belt and Road partner countries," he said.

China hits target of attracting 700 bln USD of FDI during 2021-25: official

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday chaired a State Council executive meeting during which arrangements were made to implement a package of policies that will boost domestic demand by leveraging coordinated fiscal and financial measures.

The meeting noted that the package is an important measure to expand effective demand and innovate the approaches of macro-control.

Efforts should be made to refine loan interest subsidy policies for businesses in the services sector and personal consumption, aiming to expand the supply of high-quality services and boost household purchasing power, the meeting said.

It said that loan interest subsidy policies will be implemented for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with an eye to bolstering private investment, and to lowering financing thresholds and costs for companies.

It stressed that basic public services should be provided based on an individual's place of permanent residence. Efforts will be made to address the most pressing concerns of permanent residents without a local household registration, and on improving their access to education, healthcare and employment services.

Chinese premier stresses coordination of fiscal, financial policies to boost demand