To get foreign-invested mega projects off the ground quickly at a time when China’s economy needs a jolt of life, commerce authorities assembled representatives of 20 such projects – including by major pharmaceutical firms and the world’s biggest toymaker by revenue – for a round-table chat to address concerns and get the ball rolling.
The rare meeting on Wednesday came as Beijing amps up efforts to arrest a decline in foreign investment, and authorities are keen on empowering global giants to proceed with economy-driving projects that boast planned investments of up to €10 billion (US$11 billion).
“The Ministry of Commerce will take a task-force approach for these focal projects by increasing efficiency and protection,” it vowed in a statement. “[We] will also resolve problems – such as approvals, land use, environmental assessments, energy consumption, and financing – in a timely manner.”
“We’ll push ahead with the early signing of projects under negotiation, the early commencement of signed projects, and the early completion of projects under construction, so as to provide strong support to attract and utilise foreign investment in a more vigorous manner.”
According to analysts, the programmatic approach could help China pull in additional foreign direct investment, as the latest data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released on Friday showed a net FDI outflow of US$14.8 billion for the second quarter.
The ministry’s official statement said the mega projects include those by German giants such as chemical producer BASF, software company SAP and industrial firm Siemens.
Other big names mentioned were medical device company Medtronic and pharmaceutical firm Moderna from America; pharmaceutical corporation Novartis and dental device producer Straumann from Switzerland; as well as the Danish toy producer Lego Group.
The ministry is looking to provide foreign investors with “sufficient support”, and it wants to see developing or planned projects commence operations “at their earliest convenience”.
BASF announced in 2022 that it would build an integrated production base in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, with intentions to pour €10 billion into the project by 2030.
Foreign investment … plays a vital role in the process of integration between the Chinese and global economies
Moderna said last year that it would build a research and development centre in the Shanghai Xinzhuang Industrial Zone with a total investment of 3.64 billion yuan (US$510 million), which would mark the first project of its kind by an American pharmaceutical company in China.
Novartis is expected to have its radiopharmaceutical production base operational by the end of 2026 at the Radioligand Manufacturing Site in Haiyan county, Zhejiang province, with a total investment of 600 million yuan.
The Legoland Shanghai Resort is expected to open in the spring or summer of 2025. With a 10 billion yuan investment to build a theme park and hotel, the company hopes to attract 3 million to 5 million visitors per year.
“There is a high-level consensus after the third plenum meeting that China will strategically and continuously go down the path of globalisation,” said Wang Yong, deputy academic dean with the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University.
“Foreign investment, especially capital from the United States and Europe, plays a vital role in the process of integration between the Chinese and global economies.”
Wang Zichen, a research fellow with the Beijing-based Centre for China and Globalisation think tank, said the round-table discussion was “straight from the playbook of a typical ‘task force’ within the Chinese government on domestic affairs whenever authorities truly prioritise something”.
Wang Zichen explained that the Chinese government could be viewing a “systemic” and “institutional” opening up as the “optimal solution” for all parties involved.
A stable and trustworthy relationship between China and foreign investors would help smooth out the operations of supply chains across all sectors, according to Wang Yong at Peking University.
“It is a combination of development and job creation,” he added. “At the same time, the cohesion will lead to better interplay between political and strategic functions.”
