Foreign Investors Courted
8 October 2003
Officials from the Ministry of Commerce have reassured foreign investors that they will not drop
preferential policies in place that benefit them over domestic companies.
Under China's WTO agreement all companies, be they foreign or domestic, should eventually receive equal treatment, but officials say that they are planning to establish more policies which promote foreign investment in the immediate future.
For example, China will allow the creation of foreign-funded, even solely funded, logistics companies, to improve the domestic logistics industry.
Foreign companies are not required to pay tariffs and value-
added tax when importing equipment for their own operation.
They also
enjoy a lower corporate income tax rate.