Investment

by+Shirley

Mr. Wang Shouwen， Executive Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Expo Central China and Vice Minister of Commerce introduced the overall preparation and integrated support of Expo Central China 2017. Then he answered some concerns.

With the approval of the State Council， Expo Central China has been held in rotation in the six central provinces （Hunan， Henan， Hubei， Anhui， Jiangxi and Shanxi） since 2006. Hosted by the Ministry of Commerce， the State Administration for Industry& Commerce， the China National Tourism Administration， the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce， the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade， the China Federation of Industrial Economics and the peoples governments of the six central provinces， Expo Central China 2017 is scheduled to be held in Hefei， Anhui Province from May 17 to 19， 2017. Expo Central China 2017 is an important platform of attracting foreign capital， expanding foreign trade and implementing the "Belt and Road" initiative. Each year， the event attracted reporters from home and abroad. On behalf of the Ministry of Commerce and the Organizing Committee， I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to them for their remarkable contributions to enhancing the influence of the event.

Features and highlights of Expo Central China 2017

First， the keynote forum will offer advice and suggestions on the opening-up and development of the central region with focus on the connotation and goal of the "Belt and Road" initiative. Leaders of the State Council， as well as high-ranking government officials and ministerial officials in Georgia， Indonesia and other countries along the"Belt and Road" will be invited to attend the keynote forum and opening ceremony of Expo Central China 2017 and deliver speeches. Heads of the governments of the six central provinces and global executives of multinational companies will also be present， to discuss the efforts of the central region to press ahead with supply-side structural reform， open wider to the inside and outside， and enhance international exchange and cooperation， and provide enlightenment and experience for the central provinces to accelerate structural adjustment and the transformation of the development mode.

Second， the foreign-funded enterprise symposium will be held for the first time to solicit the advice and suggestions on further perfecting Chinas investment environment. To implement the spirit of the instructions of leaders of the State Council in the institutionalization and normalization of exchanges with multinational companies， the Ministry of Commerce has regularly organized three symposiums with multinational companies since last year， to find out their difficulties and problems arising in their development and innovation in China， and solicit their advice and policy-related suggestions on the improvement of Chinas investment environment. There will be another high-level foreign-funded enterprise symposium on May 17 during Expo Central China 2017， then leaders of the State Council will attend and host the symposium.

Third， a work meeting on national economic & technological development zones will be held to summarize and optimize development zone models. The meeting will focus on promoting the institutional innovation of national economic & technological development zones， duplicating and popularizing the reform and innovation achievements of pilot free zones， improving investment environment， transforming the mode of investment promotion and introduction， establishing entrepreneurship & innovation platforms， developing the real economy， carrying out international and regional cooperation， counterpart assistance in cooperation， park co-construction and other issues.

Fourth， the Promotional Conference of Investment Environment of Six Central Provinces & Project Match- making Conference will be held to enhance exchanges and interaction with multinational companies.

Fifth， further improving the specialization， internationalization and marketization level of the conference. In terms of specialization， exhibitions and presentations will be more practical， purchaser and trader invitation will be intensified， more innovative and intelligent hightech products will be presented in the central zone and the zone for the six central provinces， and a special negotiation zone will be set up to achieve the effects of matchmaking.

Sixth， strictly implementing the eight central regulations and hosting the exposition practically， practically and thriftily. Expo Central China 2017 will continue to implement the spirit of eight central regulations， work in strict accordance with the requirements and regulations of the central government on strictly controlling the organization of foreign-related forums and exhibitions in 2017， and strive to deliver a refined and efficient event instead of an extravagant one.

Q： I would like to ask Minister Wang Shouwen to tell us about the specific situation of attracting foreign investment in the central region. In addition， I want to know what efforts have been made to attract foreign investment in the Expo Central China 2017？ Thank you.

A：The Central China Investment and Trade Expo is a platform to expand the attraction of foreign investment and foreign trade. At the Expo Central China 2017， we have carried out a series of activities to attract foreign investment. The main measures include： firstly， we invite more important guests. Not only the guests of government departments， but also the guests of business associations and enterprises are invited. So far， more than 2，400 important guests have confirmed to attend the conference， and a great number of representatives of multinational companies， state-owned enterprises as well as private enterprises say that they will take part in the Expo Central China 2017. That the representatives of foreign-funded enterprises as well as that of different types of enterprises participate in this expo is a job we devote ourselves to.

Secondly， in order to attract foreign investment， we innovate the way of investment promotion activities. We used to organize an investment environment promotion and project matchmaking conference of six central provinces in each session of the expo， however， this time we introduce the investment environment of the six central provinces with new media in the form of the combination of online and offline promotion. In the matchmaking time， we spend more time in categorizing them according to professions to make better effects.

Thirdly， we highlight a series of professional seminars in the organization. For example， among the 31 thematic activities， there are e-commerce seminar and the United States and some large domestic e-commerce enterprises will participate in it； tourism seminar， the travel departments along the line of the Belt and Road Initiative are very interested in it as well； big health and medical industry seminar， some American multinational companies tell me that they are greatly interested in participating in the medical health seminar. Besides， in the course of professional discussion， some opportunities for investment cooperation will occur.

Just mentioned utilization of foreign investment in central region， and it is generally believed that there is no advantages to attract foreign investment in central region compared with coastal region. What I want to say is foreign investment increased by about 1% in central region at a quarter of this year， which is in line with the rest of the country. I also specially emphasize that central region has its own advantages in utilizing foreign investment， and the first is regional advantage： there are two channels in attracting foreign investment， one is to expand export， foreign companies export products in China， the other one is to manufacture products by foreign companies in China to meet needs of the Chinese market. If you are an export merchant， maybe you have advantages in central region. Now export can be made to Central Asia and Eastern Europe along the coast or China-Europe Train， so it has very good geographical advantages for import and export. At the same time， foreign-invested enterprises in central region can not only meet market demand of eastern region， but also western region； so such provinces including Anhui and other provinces in central region can attract foreign investment well because of regional advantages.

Secondly， there are labor and talents advantages to attract foreign investment. It has larger populations in central region， with rich labor resource； they worked in coastal region before， now they start up business and obtain employment in their own hometown， with significant labor advantage. Besides labor， there is talents advantage. Vice-governor Shuguang just mentioned， Anhui has its own advantages in innovative talents. Therefore， labor and talents are very important for foreign-invested enterprises.

Thirdly， policy advantage. In March of this year， the State modified and issued Catalogue of foreign investment advantaged industries in central and western regions， which increased some catalog listing of catalogue of advantaged industries， increasing by 139 compared with 2013 and including 43 in six provinces of central region. When advantaged industries are listed in the catalogue， these foreign-invested enterprises will enjoy some preferential policies in tariff and import value-added tax， so policies advantage is very important. Therefore， thats why the central region attract foreign investment well recently； we are welcome foreign-invested enterprises and foreign investors attend Expo Central China 2017 held on May 17 to 19， which will have many of the opportunities， and I believe they will get a lot of business from it. Thanks.