Hu reassures foreign investors of more opportunities

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Foreign investors will enjoy more opportunities in China as the country's investment environment improves, said Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday.

"I emphasize here that China will further deepen its reform and open its door wider," said President Hu when meeting with Russian journalists ahead of his Russian visit from March 26-28.

China put into effect a revised regulation standardizing mergers and acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors in September, 2006, sparking off concern over the country's tightening control over foreign investment.

"The new regulation makes merger and acquisition operations more open and transparent," said Hu.

China, the biggest receiver of foreign investment among all developing economies for years, has seen a sharp rise of merger and acquisition bids by foreign companies targeting Chinese firms in recent years.

The trend has triggered off an outcry for protection of critical Chinese firms for national economic security, hence the promulgation of the new rules.

"With the continued growth of the Chinese economy and improvement of China's investment environment, foreign investors would have more opportunities for investment and development in China," said Hu.

The president noted that China has approved 590,000 foreign-invested enterprises and actually used 700 billion U.S. dollars in foreign investment since it started the reform and opening-up drive 29 years ago.

"China has always adhered to its pledges and has kept opening up its market since it joined the World Trade Organization (WTO),"Hu said.

China has already opened up every section of its manufacturing sector. It has also opened up more than 100 categories of trade of services, among the 160 categories listed by the WTO, he said.

"China will unswervingly implement the opening up policy, which is a fundamental national policy," said President Hu.***

Editor: Luan Shanglin

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