On September 8, the 20th China International Fair for Investment and Trade was held in Xiamen and received a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China Cao Jianming declared the opening of the fair and delivered a keynote speech at the 2018 International Investment Forum. Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen presided over the opening ceremony and delivered a speech at the 2018 International Investment Forum.
Wang Shouwen said China is a strong advocate and practitioner of economic globalization and the liberalization of investment and trade. President Xi pointed out that practice has proved that China’s economic development in the past 40 years has been achieved through opening up, and China’s high-quality economic development in the future must also be achieved through opening up. China’s door of opening up will not be closed, but will open wider and wider.
Wang Shouwen noted that this year marks the 20th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT). With the joint efforts of all sides, the CITIF bridges China and the world to strengthen cooperation and seek common development, and becomes an important window for China’s reform and opening up. This year marks the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up. Over the past years, China has adhered to the basic state policy of opening up, continuously optimized “soft and hard” environment of investment, maintained a good development momentum in foreign investment attraction and outbound investment. The development of China’s two-way investment has not only promoted the sustained growth of China's economy, but also played an active role in world economic growth. Overseas products, services, technology and capital have achieved a win-win result in the huge Chinese market. The Chinese manufacturing, Chinese construction and Chinese capital have constantly brought new vitality to the international market.
Wang Shouwen said that the Ministry of Commerce will work in line with the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, further lower the threshold of foreign investment access, absorb more foreign investment, continuously optimize investment environment, protect the legitimate rights, interests and fair competition of foreign-invested companies. At the same time, China will take the “Belt and Road” development as the focus, unswervingly support Chinese enterprises in going out and promoting the coordinated and orderly development of two-way investment.
Wang Shouwen also attended the 16th Annual Conference of the Federation of Investment Promotion Agencies of China, the Forum on Cross-Straits Economic and Trade Cooperation and Development, the Workshop on Investment Facilitation for Development, the Symposium for Multinational Corporations, the 23rd World Investment Conference of WAIPA, the International Symposium of Overseas Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones and the 4th Public-Private Dialogue on the Asia-Pacific Model E-port Network.
The CIFIT was hosted by the Ministry of Commerce. Attending were Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the Chairman of Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board Thomas Trikasih Lembong, the ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi and business leaders, government officials and representatives of international organizations from over 100 countries and regions.
