More efforts are urged to attract foreign investment
Shot by Dong Jun. Edited by Zhong Youyang. Subtitles by Wang Xinzhou.
A newly elected deputy to the 16th Shanghai People's Congress, Ji Nuo, made suggestions to attract more foreign investments as the city strives to become an international financial hub.
Ji, who has over 24 years of experience in handling foreign investment issues, proposed some measures to consolidate foreign investment confidence.
First is to resume the international exchange as soon as possible.
"Specificly, we should provide convenient bussiness visit and resume the offline international conferences, top-level forums and competition," Ji said.
Shanghai has pledged to keep improving a market-oriented, legalized and internationalized business environment, helping to raise the number of regional headquarters of multinational companies to 1,200 from the current 891, Mayor Gong Zheng said in the government work report.
Meanwhile, Shanghai launched a news and services platform City News Service in November, aiming to provide information to the city's expat population, helping simplify their process of getting settled and navigating through life in Shanghai.
It also includes information and services for foreign companies.
Ji Nuo, a deputy to the 16th Shanghai People's Congress, speaks during a panel discussion on attracting foreign investment in Shanghai.
Secondly, Ji said it is important to provide easier access for funds to foreign businesses.
"To attract more foreign investment, we can offer financial support to encourage foreign companies to come or expand their business," he said.
"And we should also continue to explore opportunities for foreign companies to get listed in Shanghai or on the Chinese mainland."
Ji also suggested the city make good use of the current intermediary service institutions, improve the management of commercial activities, and further protect intellectual property right.
Shanghai courts have handled more than 167,000 cases related to IPR infringement in last five years, an increase of 277.8 percent compared with the previous five years, according to a report released by Shanghai High People's Court during the ongoing Two Sessions.
"The protection of IPR can help to bolster confidence of foreign enterprises to bring their high-end products and services to the Chinese market," Ji said.
The international investment has contributed a lot to the city's economy.
The total foreign trade has exceeded 4 trillion yuan (US$596 billion) for two straight years, while the actual use of foreign investment topped US$103 billion cumulatively over the past five years, an increase of 15.8 percent compared with the previous five-year period, according to official data.
Besides, Shanghai is home to a total of 891 regional headquarters and 531 research and development centers of multinational enterprises, making the city China's largest hub for foreign businesses.
