China will further deepen reforms and ease market access for foreign companies to comprehensively implement the management system for pre-establishment national treatment as well as a negative list, a Chinese official said Thursday.
The comment came amid rising public concerns that the recent U.S. tax cut would attract Chinese capital to the country.
Tax policy plays a vital role in affecting companies' investment decisions, but it is not a decisive factor, Gao Feng, spokesman of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), said at a regular press conference in Beijing.
"Other elements, including stability of macro economy, market potential, production factors and business environment, should be taken into consideration," he noted.
China has relatively improved industrial chains, the number of high-quality workers and large growth potential of the consumption market, with the country's economy maintaining medium-to-high speed growth, the spokesman said.
"We are stepping up efforts to optimize the investment and business environment and reduce access bans for foreign capital," he said.
In June, MOFCOM and the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, released the 2017 Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries, in which more than 30 investment restrictions have been cut.
China's opening-up will not stop and will continue to be more open through efforts such as further reducing market restrictions and improving service for foreign-invested enterprises, Gao said, noting "we have confidence that China will continue to be an attractive investment destination."
China's foreign direct investment rose 9.8 percent year-on-year to 803.62 billion yuan ($121 billion) in the first 11 months of this year, MOFCOM data showed. A total of 4,641 foreign-invested enterprises were set up in China in November alone, up 161.5 percent on a yearly basis, the ministry said.
