Foreign-funded firms quicken pace to resume work: ministry

Foreign-funded firms in China have quickened their pace in resuming production and operation weighed down by the COVID-19 outbreak, a commerce ministry official said on Friday.

As of March 30, about 66.9 percent of the country's 8,756 key foreign-funded firms had recovered over 70 percent of production capacity, Zong Changqing, an official with the Ministry of Commerce, told a news briefing.

Foreign-funded manufacturing enterprises logged relatively faster work resumption, with more than 70 percent of them having resumed over 70 percent of production capacity, Zong said.

Of the 241 major foreign-funded projects under construction, 238 had restarted work, according to Zong.

While the rapid spread of COVID-19 overseas might impact on China's introduction of foreign capital, its appealing as a super large market remained unchanged, Zong said, citing a recent survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China, which showed 40 percent of foreign firms will increase investment in the country as scheduled.

The proportion was 17 percentage points higher from February, signaling their steady outlook and recovering confidence in investing in China, he said.