为民间投资保驾护航
田新元
  民间投资是经济发展的"晴雨表".在经济下行压力加大背景下,市场风险升高,市场主体预期偏弱,民间投资信心受到影响,民间投资增速放缓也在情理之中.要激发民间投资的活力,就需要为民间投资保驾护航,抵御风险冲击.
  数据显示,今年1~5月份,民间投资占整体投资的比重为56.9%.由此可见,在整体投资中,民间投资仍占大头.所以,稳投资必须稳住民间投资.
  要稳住民间投资,就应让民间资本树立市场信心.
  受地区冲突影响,大宗商品价格剧烈波动,叠加疫情影响国际供应链,国际订单减少.这对我国的出口企业来说,无疑是个不小的冲击.
  有些企业主动作为,变压力为动力,开始开拓国内市场,取得了较好的效果.面对新形势,我国提出了"以国内大循环为主体,国内国际双循环相互促进的新发展格局",出台了"中共中央国务院关于加快建设全国统一大市场的意见",为市场健康发展指明了方向,给这些企业开拓国内市场打下了基础.
  建设全国统一大市场将改善市场交易的基础设施,促进产业链和供应链的进一步完善,降低市场交易成本,提高民间资本的市场zhen and the Hong Kong special administrative region. Xi visited the area again in 2018, and two years later, he delivered a speech at a local convention center.
  He encouraged the region to fully pursue the pioneering spirit of special economic zones and to put special piloting policies in place.
  Financial services is among the sectors given priority in Qianhai, and this is one of the reasons foreign banks, including HSBC, have set up branches such as securities.
  The lender, which is based in London, used its advantage in owning the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp-a subsidiary based in Hong Kong-to launch China's first joint venture securities company majority-owned by a foreign bank in Qianhai in December 2017.
  Raising its stake in the securities venture to 90 percent in April was another step taken by the bank to gain a firmer foothold as it looks to expand in China.
  Wang, from HSBC, said, "All these steps show that HSBC's commitment to supporting China's continued economic growth and internationalization remains as strong as ever-and is still growing."
  A robot writes Chinese calligraphy at the Shanghai expo last year. [Photo by XU CONGJUN/FOR CHINA DAILY]
  He added that the bank would continue to build its business in China, including investment of more than 3 billion yuan from 2020 to 2025 and the issuance of a 1 billion yuan lending fund to help smaller companies hit hard by COVID-19-related challenges.
  "We plan to hire nearly 100 staff members in private banking business by end of this year, expand the team size threefold in the next five years, and will extend our private banking footprint to more cities, including Hangzhou and Chengdu," Wang said.
  Huang Tianlei, a research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a think tank in the United States, said the surge in inbound foreign direct investment is evidence that China has continued to liberalize its investment environment for foreign companies.
  "This suggests that many foreign corporates investing in China still find the Chinese domestic market a major attraction, despite calls by some Western governments for reshoring," he said.
  He added that the Chinese government has continuously reduced the negative list restricting foreign investment. As a result, fewer sectors are now off limits to overseas companies.
  "In financial services, for example, foreign companies are now allowed to take controlling shares in existing joint ventures, or to open new wholly foreign-owned firms, which has led to a steady increase in inbound investment in the sector in recent years," Huang said.
  Institutional guarantee
   Shanghai, a financial hub and China's largest port, has led the nation in trade and opening-up. The city also hosts the world's first import-themed expo, the China International Import Expo, which was planned by Xi in person.
  The president traveled to Shanghai to address the opening ceremonies of the first and second expos in 2018 and 2019, unveiling measures that included lowering tariffs and easing market access for international companies.
  In a keynote speech at the 2018 event, Xi said: "We will take further steps to lower tariffs, facilitate customs clearance, reduce institutional costs for imports, and step up cross-border e-commerce and other new forms and models of business. China has a big market of over 1.3 billion people, and it is our sincere commitment to open the Chinese market."
  He pledged unrelenting steps to increase the openness of the financial services, agricultural, mining and manufacturing sectors and to accelerate opening in fields such as telecommunications, education, medical services and culture.
  "In the coming 15 years, China's imports of goods and services are expected to exceed $30 trillion and $10 trillion respectively," Xi said in his 2018 speech.
  Last year, the value of deals clinched at the Shanghai expo reached $70.72 billion, up from $57.8 billion in 2018.
  Xu, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the expo marked a major step for China to open up its markets and share its growth opportunities. It was also a pragmatic step to develop an open world economy and promote common development.
  "The expo, a key pillar for China's opening-up in the new era, will enable the country to contribute to global trade, economic growth and the rebalancing of economic globalization," he said.
  Phaichit Viboontanasarn, vice-president and secretary-general of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in China, said such expos have brought benefits for Thai producers and service providers, making Thai brands widely popular in the Chinese market.
  "China's economic openness creates economic benefits and opportunities for foreign businesses in many ways," he said.
  Workers construct the Qianhai Integrated Transportation Hub in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, last year. [Photo/Xinhua]
  "Reducing tariffs and transaction costs for doing business can help Thai companies, especially smaller ones, increase their opportunities in China, making Chinese consumers more aware of Thailand's strengths as a 'world kitchen'."
  He also expressed optimism for the Chinese market's prospects, adding that it could grow even bigger with expansion of the middle-income group, improvements to rural infrastructure, and rising living standards among the rural population.
  According to the Ministry of Commerce, it now takes imported goods an average of one and a half days to complete customs clearance, down from four days in 2017.
  This year, China opened up another 22 sectors and raised the level of openness for 37 sectors as it officially enacted the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world's largest trade agreement, which covers a market of 2.2 billion people.
  Wang Shouwen, vice-minister of commerce, said at a news briefing in May, "As the world's largest and fastest-growing market, China has a sound set of supporting industries, rich human capital, a fine innovation environment, and incomparable potential for domestic demand."
  He said that with the nation signing more free trade agreements, and its formal application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, foreign businesses will see broader opportunities for growth.
  "We hope foreign businesses can seize such opportunities and achieve greater development in China," he added.
  Shi Jingin Shanghai contributed to this story.