Editor's note:Three government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, have formulated an action plan to stabilize and enhance foreign investment. The plan includes deepening the opening-up of the education sector, particularly vocational training institutions, vocational colleges and high-level universities specializing in science, engineering, agriculture and medicine. Sang Baichuan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, explained the measures to DaHe Fortune Cube, a financial news outlet under Henan Daily. Below are excerpts of the interview. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
The education sector is an important part of China's service industry, which is now opening up at a faster pace. Initiatives to open up the education sector have already been implemented within its pilot free trade zones and free trade ports. Drawing on this experience, China is now scaling up its opening-up efforts.
High-tech manufacturing and high-end service industries have an enormous demand for talent. High-quality talent pools deliver better human resources for high-quality foreign investment. Opening up vocational education and fields such as science, engineering, agriculture and medicine to foreign investment will help China cultivate a large workforce tailored to the needs of high-end manufacturing and service industries.
China's abundant talent resources are a major draw for foreign investment, yet there is room for improvement in vocational and higher education through increased opening-up. A greater inflow of high-quality international educational resources will help elevate the quality of domestic education. This will help foster more outstanding talents to meet the demand of high-quality foreign investment.
The action plan addresses the concerns of foreign-invested enterprises, and strives to remove the obstacles constraining their development. This demonstrates that China welcomes foreign investment, and that the country will offer expanded market opportunities for foreign-invested companies to benefit from its economic growth.
China is currently upgrading its economic structure and pursuing high-quality development. It places special emphasis on leveraging the opportunities brought by the digital economy and intelligent transformation to attract high-quality foreign investment. The plan serves as a solid institutional guarantee for such foreign investment.
Foreign-invested enterprises are less concerned about strict policies than about frequent policy shifts. Through institutional opening-up and improved regulation and services, the action plan safeguards the rights and interests of foreign investments, fosters fair competition between domestic and foreign-funded enterprises, and enhances transparency in the government's decision-making.
The role of the government is to rectify market failures, create equitable opportunities for foreign-invested enterprises, and address concerns about the business environment. China encourages foreign investment in high-end manufacturing, high-tech services, and industries aligned with the digital and intelligent industrial revolution.
Moreover, the action plan calls for ensuring that foreign-invested companies participate in government procurement on an equal footing. China has always emphasized fair treatment of both domestic and foreign-invested companies during the government procurement process.
