Phoenix TV:

Shanghai has long been a magnet for foreign investment, and it has set its sights on becoming a premier global investment destination. Could you share some of the key initiatives Shanghai plans to launch to attract foreign investment? Thank you.

Hua Yuan:

Thanks for your question. Shanghai has always placed great emphasis on attracting and utilizing foreign investment. In recent years, we have amended and improved relevant policies to encourage multinational corporations to set up regional headquarters, introduced and implemented upgrade plans for foreign R&D centers, and issued a set of measures to stabilize foreign investment. The city's actual use of foreign capital has exceeded $20 billion for four consecutive years. Last year, that number surpassed $24 billion, setting another record high. We are particularly pleased to see new regional headquarters of multinational corporations and foreign R&D centers established in Shanghai every year. In 2023, 65 regional headquarters and 30 foreign R&D centers were newly established in Shanghai, bringing the total number to 956 and 561, respectively. This has helped Shanghai become the city with the most regional headquarters of multinational corporations on the Chinese mainland. At present, its accumulated actual use of foreign capital has exceeded $350 billion, with more than 70,000 foreign companies established and flourishing there. These data indicate that Shanghai is already one of the top choices both for foreign investment and the global industrial chain layout of multinational corporations.

In our view, foreign investors are optimistic about Shanghai largely because of its continuously improving business environment and expanding advantages in opening up. For example, the globally renowned pharmaceutical company Moderna established its presence in Shanghai last year. From contract signing to groundbreaking, it took just over three months. "Moderna speed" has become a new benchmark in the city for supporting major foreign projects. Guided by the action plan, which includes 24 specific pro-foreign investment measures unveiled by the State Council, we will implement the national edition of the negative list for cross-border trade in services and the latest negative list for foreign investment. We will promote "Moderna speed" throughout the city, ensuring that all foreign projects have guaranteed space, efficient approval processes, and timely services. Our focus will be on the following three aspects.

First, we will further expand opening up. By aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules, we will steadily expand institutional opening up, lift all restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, and further implement comprehensive trials for expanding openness in the service sector, so as to embrace global enterprises and talent with a more open mindset.

Second, we will intensify our efforts to promote foreign investment. We will continue to leverage the role of institutions and organizations like global partners for foreign investment, organize a series of overseas promotion campaigns titled "Invest in Shanghai, Share the Future," and encourage foreign enterprises to invest more in key fields such as green development, digital transformation and sci-tech innovation.

Third, we will focus on improving our capability to serve enterprises. We will optimize the dedicated team and service commissioner system for foreign projects and the service package system for key companies, hold government-enterprise roundtables, and resolve practical difficulties and problems for foreign businesspeople. We will also implement various measures to improve the business environment and provide more targeted and quality services, enabling foreign investors to have a stronger sense of gain. Thank you.