China seen as global investment stabilizer

A container vessel is loaded at Zhoushan Port, Zhejiang province.[Photo by Yao Feng/For China Daily]

China is expected to have attracted a total of $690 billion in foreign direct investment during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, and will offer its pilot free trade zones greater capacity to attract more global investment over the next five years, government officials said on Thursday.

The Ministry of Commerce is currently compiling a plan for the utilization of foreign capital during the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), said Zong Changqing, director-general of the ministry's department of foreign investment administration.

He added that the government will steadily promote the growth of its FTZs, the Hainan Free Trade Port and national level economic development zones to maximize their role as the "main areas" of the open economy during this period.