SPONSOR CONTENTsaidChinawillworkwithall 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]Scan here to watch
a video about CIFITA 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.
WEI YAO