This aerial panoramic photo taken on Aug. 1, 2023 shows the Dishui Lake at the Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in east China's Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

　　China's State Council recently issued guidelines on further optimizing the foreign investment environment and attracting more foreign investment. The document introduces 24 measures in six areas aimed at boosting confidence among foreign investors and attracting higher-quality foreign capital.

　　During a press conference on Monday, Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce, said, "I believe that investors and foreign enterprises globally will recognize these policy measures as a testament to China's resolute commitment to openness. They will reap the benefits of these policies."

　　The newly introduced guidelines expand the breadth and depth of international engagement, elevate investment facilitation, promote guidance for foreign investment, and reinforce support and service guarantees for foreign investors.

　　Chen said that in the latter half of the year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) will step up its policy support efforts. This commitment involves not only guiding adherence to the guidelines at a local level, along with previous policies introduced to support foreign R&D centers and incentivize manufacturing investment, but also partnering with relevant departments to explore prudent reductions in the negative list for foreign investment access. This move aims to consistently expand market access to foreign capital.

　　Chen also revealed plans for revising the Measures for Strategic Investment by Foreign Investors in Listed Companies, with the intention of further easing constraints on foreign investors' strategic involvement in publicly traded firms.

　　Statistics from MOFCOM underline the positive trends. In the first half of the year, China saw the establishment of 23,536 new foreign-invested enterprises, marking a remarkable increase of 35.7% compared with the same period last year.

　　In the first seven months of 2023, high-tech industries saw strong growth, with investment up 11.5% year on year. Specifically, investment in the high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services sectors expanded 11.5% and 11.6%, respectively, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday.

　　The guidelines have also emphasized enhanced strategies for promoting foreign investment.

　　Zhu Bing, director general of the foreign investment administration department at MOFCOM, said that the ministry will continue its "Year of Investment in China" initiative, including a dedicated promotion on further opening up of the services sector at the China International Fair for Trade in Services to be held in September, and a summit at the China International Import Expo in November.

　　Furthermore, MOFCOM will harness the collective efforts of overseas embassies, consulates, local and international business associations, industry groups, and foreign investment promotion agencies, and leverage platforms such as pilot free trade zones and national development zones, which will offer robust backing for investment promotion, Zhu added.