Bloomberg Businessweek Asia Edition - 05 August 2019

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saidChinawillworkwithall partiestoadvance
results-orientedimplementationof Beltand
Roadprojects“in thespiritof an architectrefin-
ingtheblueprint.”

CIFIT 2019 willfocuson integratingtheinitia-
tiveintoitsprojectsandactivities,Wangsaid.

A seachange
Wangrecalledthefirsttimehe attended
thefairin 1997,whentherewereabout
30 countriesandregionsparticipating.The
investorsweremainlyfromHongKongand
includedChineseexpatriatesfromSoutheast
Asia.Today,thevenueis sixtimeslarger,the
numberof activitieshasquadrupledandthe
numberof participantshasquintupled.

Wangsaidthatin the1990s,whentransna-
tionalcorporationslikeLinde,a leadingtruck
manufacturer,andcomputertechnology
companyDellcametoXiamen,China’sbusi-
nessenvironmentmightnothavebeenideal
fortheirinvestmentrequirements.However,
theirarrivalacceleratedimprovements,asthe
investmentsbetteredlivingconditionsand
facilitatedthedevelopmentof Xiamen’surban
trafficnetwork.Publicservicefacilitiessuchas
newhospitalsandinternationalschoolswere
built.Subsequently,moreinternationalcapital
pouredin.

“Theoptimizationof thebusinessenvironment
doesnotsimplymeanhavingpreferentialtax
orindustrialpolicies,”Wangsaid.“International
investmentis notjustcapitaloperations;it is
moretheintroductionof talent.”

Toattracttalent,thegovernmentmustensure

thattheirrequirementsforlivingconditions,

healthandtheirchildren’seducationaremet,

whichis alsopartof thebusinessenvironment,

headded.

Overtheyears,Xiamen’simprovedbusiness

environmenthasattractedmoreinvestors.

Accordingto CIFITstatistics,$340billionin

foreigncapitalhasenteredtheChinesemarket

throughthefairsince1997.Xiamenranks

secondamongChinesecitiesin theease-of-

doing-businesslistcompiledbytheNational

DevelopmentandReformCommissionin

2018,onlybehindBeijing.

AccordingtoWang,investmentcannotbe

accomplishedin onestroke;it is a long-term

process.CIFITcombinesitsonlineplatform

withofflineeventsto ensurethatinvestors

gettimelyinvestmentinformation,andonline

matchmakingbetweenglobalinvestorsand

projectstakesplaceall year,notjustonthe

fourdaysof thefair.Also,beforeandaftereach

fair,enterprisesareinvitedtovisittheprovince

highlightedasthefair’sguestprovince,for

matchmakingandpromotionalactivities.This

year’sguestprovinceis Shanxiin thenorth,a

majorcoal-producingarea.

In2013,CIFITlauncheda smartcustomer

relationshipmanagement(CRM)system.

Investmentinformationis collectedfrom

bothinvestorsandenterprises,creatinga rich

databaseof industries,markets,companies

andprojectdetailsforglobalinvestorsto finda

suitablematch.

Astheworldeconomyfacesuncertainties

duetotradeprotectionismandotherfactors,

CIFITfaceschallengesin promotingeconom-

ic integrationandinvestmentfacilitation.“But

despitethechallenges,westillhavepositive

expectationsaboutthisyear’sCIFITbecause

Chinaremainsanattractivedestinationfor

investment,”Wangsaid.“China’sstrongcapi-

tal,andthecooperationwiththecountries

participatingin theBeltandRoadInitiative,

especiallytheAssociationofSoutheastAsian

NationsandAfricancountries,willbringnew

opportunities.”

TheForeignInvestmentLaw,passedbythe

legislatureonMarch 15 toreplacethree

existinglawswithunifiedprovisions,willcome

intoeffectin January,andis expectedtoboost

foreigninvestors’confidencewithmoreinsti-

tutionalizedprotectionof foreigninvestment.

Someof thekeyfeaturesof thelawareequal

nationaltreatmentof foreigninvestment,im-

provedprotectionof intellectualpropertyand

reaffirmationof thebanon forcedtechnology

transfer.

Wangsaidfutureeditionsof CIFITwillbetai-

loredtothenewlaw.“CIFITwillstepupefforts

toenhanceinvestment

protection,servicesand

promotiontosenda posi-

tivemessagefromChina

toinvestors,”hesaid.n

[email protected]

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a video about CIFIT

A freighter docked at a terminal in the Xiamen area of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone in southeast China’s Fujian Province, on July 11.

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