CNBC:

I have two questions. First, in the first half of this year, how many executives from foreign companies have visited China, especially those from the US and Europe? Second, what kind of achievements has the "Invest in China Year" series of investment promotion activities made in the first half of the year, and how does MOFCOM plan and expect to attract foreign investment in the second half of this year?  

Zhu Bing:

Thank you for your questions. Since the beginning of this year, many executives of transnational corporations have come to China to evaluate the investment environment and search for new opportunities, which speaks volumes about their strong willingness to invest in China and optimism about China's prospects. MOFCOM warmly welcomes investors of various countries. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with visiting executives of transnational corporations more than 20 times this year, detailing our new policies and measures for attracting and utilizing foreign investment, and holding deep conversations about consolidating existing cooperation and further exploring potential cooperation. Recently, on the basis of our regular communication mechanisms, MOFCOM established a roundtable meeting mechanism with foreign companies to expand the communication channels between the Chinese government and foreign companies, which has helped to enhance communication, respond to enterprises' concerns in a timely manner, coordinate efforts to resolve the difficulties and problems foreign businesses face in their operations, and offer more effective and relevant services.   

According to the preliminary information, more executives of transnational corporations plan to visit China in the second half of this year. We will try our best to facilitate their evaluation of the investment environment, their efforts to align development strategies, and their negotiation of cooperation projects. China will become more and more open. Transnational corporations are welcome to continue their investment in China and share China's huge market and the dividends of open development.  

The second question was about the "Invest in China Year" series of investment promotion activities. I will brief it now. Implementing the decision and plan made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on making greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, MOFCOM hosted for the first time the "Invest in China Year" series of investment promotion activities with the theme of "Invest in China, Working Together for a Bright Future of Openness and Prosperity." These events cover the country's east, central, west, and northeast regions and comprehensively display the business environment and investment opportunities in different localities, confirming the reliability of investing in China. So far, a total of 14 events of three categories have been held. 

The first category is comprehensive events. This March, we hosted the launch ceremony of "Invest in China Year" in Guangzhou, which Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attended and addressed with a keynote speech. In the presence of almost 100 transnational corporations, he reiterated China's determination to enhance opening-up, helping to strongly boost the confidence of foreign investors in China. 

The second category is "bringing in" activities. We held special local promotions in Guangdong, Chongqing, Tianjin and other places, and a national-level economic and technological development zone promotion event in Jiangsu province. We organized and carried out a series of activities, such as the "Multinational Corporations in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia" and "CIIE Enters Jilin and Yunnan." In line with the actual development and industrial characteristics of various regions, we actively promoted opening-up policies, investment environment and projects, and vigorously supported investment attraction around the country, especially in the central, western and northeast regions.

The third category is "going global" activities. We visited the Gulf countries to carry out special promotions, which attracted the participation of more than 70 local companies, and promoted the positive progress of many investment projects in China. We held the launch ceremony for the "Year of Investment Promotion — Germany Station" activity in Germany, in which more than 100 German companies and business associations participated, and many companies put forward investment plans. During the Year of Investment Promotion series of activities in the first half of the year, various regions continued to increase their efforts to attract investment. According to incomplete statistics, more than 2,900 foreign investment projects are currently being discussed in various regions.

Next, we will focus on promoting the implementation of policies and measures in various foreign investment fields, and continue holding the Year of Investment Promotion series of activities. We aim to better guarantee foreign investment services, strive to create a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized first-class business environment, help foreign-funded enterprises deepen their presence in the Chinese market, and share the dividends of China's development. Thank you.