Top legislature to consider draft foreign investment law

The draft foreign investment law will be submitted to the plenary session of the National People's Congress for deliberation, according to a decision adopted at a meeting of the NPC Standing Committee which closed on Wednesday. The NPC plenary session will start on March 5.To better implement the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017, the new draft further expanded the article on the system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list, said Li Fei, chairman of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee, while presenting the new draft to lawmakers.Definitions of the terms were included in the article, in addition to a clause requiring the state to give national treatment to foreign investments outside the negative list.In line with provisions in the Constitution, the new draft proposes that the state shall not expropriate or requisition foreign investment, adding that it could only do so under particular circumstances and in the public interest.If the state expropriates or requisitions foreign investment, "due legal procedures must be followed while prompt, fair and reasonable compensation should be made," it noted.Once adopted, the unified law will replace three existing laws, namely the laws on Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, non-equity joint ventures (or contractual joint ventures) and wholly foreign-owned enterprises.Source: China Daily

China eyes further opening-up in updated draft foreign investment law

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Tuesday started reviewing a new draft of the foreign investment law, the latest move to promote the country's opening-up initiative.During the two-day session, members of the top legislature are scheduled to deliberate a new version of the draft law, which has been updated from the first draft submitted to the previous session last month.Once adopted, the unified law will replace three existing laws, namely the laws on Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, non-equity joint ventures (or contractual joint ventures) and wholly foreign-owned enterprises.To better implement the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017, the new draft further expanded the article on the system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list, said Li Fei, chairman of the NPC Constitution and Law Committee, while presenting the new draft to lawmakers.Definitions of the terms were included in the article, in addition to a clause requiring the state to give national treatment to foreign investments outside the negative list.In line with provisions in the Constitution, the new draft proposes that the state shall not expropriate or requisition foreign investment, adding that it could only do so under particular circumstances and in the public interest.If the state expropriates or requisitions foreign investment, "due legal procedures must be followed while prompt, fair and reasonable compensation should be made," it noted.Source : China Daily

From which dimensions to judge the Business Environment?

Every year, there are many lists of Business Environment Evaluations, and the standards are different. But the most authoritative is the "World Business Environment Report" released by the World Bank. The data on the business environment indicators ranks the ease of doing business in 190 economies around the world. It has been published 15 times, and has received worldwide attention.Throughout the World Bank's Business Environment Assessment System, its indicators includes the entire life cycle of the company, including “starting a business, handling construction permits, obtaining electricity, registering property, obtaining credit, protecting small and medium investors, paying taxes, and cross-border trade, execution of contracts and bankruptcy. This article only lists a few of the key indicators for your reference.1. Start A BusinessThis indicator reflects the difficulty of starting a business (multiple refers to SMEs). At present, most of China's municipalities, provincial capitals and vice provincial capitals can implement network approval and window processing. The start-up time of enterprises is between 5-8 working days; however, the most small and medium-sized cities in non-developed provinces, start-up enterprises still have to shuttle through multiple departments, and the settlement time is more than 20 working days.2. Handling Construction PermitThis item reflects the difficulty of building a factory/office building. It mainly measures the procedures, time and expenses required for the building a factory or office building, including obtaining the necessary permits and approvals, submitting the required notices, applying for and accepting all inspections, and the entire process of getting the utility. At the same time, this indicator item should also examine the building quality control index, assess the quality of building regulations, quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance systems, and qualification requirements.3. Obtain The ElectricityThis item reflects the difficulty of obtaining power supply, it mainly measures the procedures, time and expenses for the company to obtain permanent power connection. In addition, we must measure the reliability of electricity supply, the transparency of electricity and electricity prices.4. Property RegistrationThis item reflects the extent that companies are protected by property rights. Mainly measure the steps required to complete the registration of property rights, the time and cost. 5. Tax PaymentThis item reflects the tax burden that the company needs to undertake, and the administrative burden in the process of paying taxes.

Belt & Road Initiative expands China-Iran cooperation

"The economies of the two countries are complementary to each other. We are one of the biggest energy producers in the world and China is one of the biggest energy consumers in the world," said Hassan Shahbeig, chargé d'affaires at the Iranian embassy in China, during a recent interview with China Daily. The investment reached a frenzy in September 2017. In just one week, a series of deals were reached between China's top financial institutions and a business delegation led by Iran's central banker Valiollah Seif, in which China promised $35 billion in financing and loans to support Iran's economy.The Iran Daily first reported a credit line of $10 billion from Beijing-based CITIC Group, a State-owned investment firm, to finance water, energy and transport projects.Scarcely a day passed before the newspaper reported that the China Development Bank had signed preliminary deals with Iran worth $15 billion for its infrastructure and production projects, adding that officials from Export-Import Bank of China would travel to Iran to finalize another $10-billion letter of credit.Iranian officials told the newspaper that all these deals were part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to build infrastructure, from highways and railways to ports and power plants, between China and other Asian countries, Europe and Africa to promote trade.Iran's strategic location renders it a vital component in the BRI's global framework. As Shahbeig put it, "Iran is located in the central part of the Middle East, as a bridge between China and Europe. It is located in a place which can connect the north and south corridor, and also the west and east corridor.""The Iranian government has supported the Initiative of Belt and Road, and we have been following up this idea and have been in discussion with the Chinese government," he added.There is already a direct freight train between China and Iran. The rail route, also known as the New Silk Road, stretches 2,300 kilometers from Urumqi in western China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to Tehran, connecting Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan along the way, cutting transportation to 14 to 15 days, compared with 45 to 50 days by sea. According to Iranian business daily Financial Tribune, five cargo trains have traveled the route to the Iranian capital since January 2016, loaded with myriad Chinese goods, from automobile accessories and spare parts to household appliances and ceramic tableware.As a strand of the global New Silk Road, China is also building a 926-km railroad from Tehran to the eastern city of Mashhad, Iran's primary pilgrimage site which attracts tens of millions of visitors each year. Construction of the electrified railway by China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation, also a State-owned enterprise (SOE) , is expected to take up to four years. Once completed, it will reduce the journey from 12 hours to 6 hours and increase transportation capacity to 25 million passengers and 10 million tons of cargo per year.For Iran, the Tehran-Mashhad electrification project is part of its wider rail development plan to electrify all railroads by 2025. The government has placed expansion of the country's rail network on top of its agenda. In its sixth five-year development plan (2017-22), Iran vowed to increase the share of rail in cargo and passenger transportation to at least 30 percent and 20 percent respectively by the end of the period.Iran's ambitious program of rail construction and upgrading has attracted a lot of Chinese companies to participate, especially those big SOEs. The State-owned China Railway Engineering Corp is building a 415-km high-speed rail line between Tehran and Isfahan via Qom. In January 2018, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp won a 3.53 billion yuan ($513 million) contract to build a 263-km railway in western Iran between Kermanshah and Khosravi. In March 2018, China National Machinery Industry Corp signed a contract to build an $845 million railway connecting the Iranian cities of Tehran, Hamedan and Sanandaj.As China's BRI enters its sixth year, with more Chinese SOEs venturing into not just Iran but also other international markets, Shahbeig had a grand vision for its future."We are thinking that if this idea could be expanded and at the same time others be involved in this initiative, it will make a safer and more prosperous and more secured globe for all human beings," he said.Source : China Daily

IMF maintains China economic growth forecast for 2019

The International Monetary Fund maintained its China economic growth forecasts while trimming global growth projections for 2019 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.China's economic growth is projected to be 6.2 percent for 2019, the same as the IMF's previous prediction in October. Domestic demand is also estimated to remain robust, aided by policies to boost consumption this year, the IMF said in its Global Economic Prospects.Figures show growth in China remains robust, in part reflecting resilient consumption. However industrial production and new export orders have moderated, asset prices have experienced downward pressure and sovereign bond spreads have risen amid trade tensions. Prices of newly constructed residential buildings have rebounded, including in first-tier cities following a period of correction according to the report.The Fund projects a 3.5 percent growth rate worldwide for 2019 and 3.6 percent for 2020, down 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points compared to its forecasts in October, said IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath at an Update of the World Economic Outlook press conference.The world economy is growing more slowly than expected, risks are rising and the expansion seen in recent years is losing momentum, said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the forum, calling for policymakers to collaborate to address global risks.The reason for the gloomy forecast is the US-triggered trade tension between China and the US, which could dampen confidence in investment and economic development, said Wang Huiyao. Wang is a counselor of the State Council, China's Cabinet, and founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, the Beijing-headquartered non-governmental think tank.China is one of the world's largest economic engines and the leader of the global value chain, so if the tension hurts both countries' economies it would definitely harm world economic forecasts, Wang said.China should continue its reform and opening-up and continue to support the world economy, Wang added.China's support for the World Trade Organization and free trade is a counterbalance to the loss of momentum for the world economy, said Daryl Guppy, international financial technical analysis expert and special consultant to Axicorp.The IMF forecast does not adequately assess the contribution of the Belt and Road Initiative to economic growth - not just in developed economies, but in emerging economies as well. In 2008 the world relied on China to lead the way and 2019 will be no different, Guppy said.China's year-on-year GDP growth reached 6.6 percent in 2018, achieving its goal of around 6.5 percent GDP growth set for the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.With the magnitude and size of the GDP at present, this kind of rate is already very impressive, so it is extremely important for China to maintain its above six percent GDP growth with continuous reform and opening-up and trade with more countries at a fast pace, Wang said.Source : China Daily

The National Science and Technology Award of Shanghai accounted for 16.5% of the total in the country

The National Science and Technology Awards in 2018 were announced.As the highest award in National Science and Technology, a total of 278 projects and 7 scientific and technological experts won the award.It is worth noting that in the year of 2018, a total of 47 major scientific and technological achievements completed and cooperated in Shanghai won the National Science and Technology Award, accounting for 16.5% of the total number of awards in the country. This is the 17th consecutive year that Shanghai has won more than 10%.It is reported that among the 47 award-winning projects, Shanghai won 3 national natural science awards, accounting for 7.9% of the 38 national natural science awards; 7 national technical invention awards (including 3 lead projects), accounting for 10.4% of 67 National Technology Invention Award; 37 National Science and Technology Progress Awards (including 23 lead projects), accounting for 21.4% of the 173 National Science and Technology Progress Awards.In addition, there were 29 projects led by the Shanghai research team in 2018, which was the most in the number of awards since the 2015.Among the high-level awards, among the two national science and technology progress special awards, Shanghai participated in one (special project); among the 20 national science and technology progress first prizes, Shanghai led one (special project).From the specific content point of view, some projects involving Shanghai research team have international leading advantages in related fields.