Absorption of foreign capital is an important component of China's basic state policy of opening up to the outside world. The past 30 years has witnessed the remarkable achievements that draw worldwide attention. By the end of 2007, China's foreign-invested companies had exceeded ten thousand, and that year alone, actually utilized FDI totaled $74.8 billion dollars (national standard data reference). As a country attracting the most FDI among the developing world for 15 consecutive years, China not only expands the FDI scale but also optimizes its structure. Foreign-invested companies are playing more and more important role in China's national economic growth, industrial and technological advance, export expansion and generation of job opportunities.

Growth Rate of China's Actually Utilized Foreign Capital in the Past Three-Decade of Reform and Opening up.

China's Total Actually Utilized Foreign Capital in the Past Three-Decade of Reform and Opening up.

In May 2005, Asian Headquarter of International Paper, the largest paper and forestry product company in the world, moved from Hong Kong to Shanghai.

In July 2007, Coca Cola planned to build global innovation and technology center and its China headquarter in Shanghai. The picture shows that Coca Cola's China Regional president at the ground-breaking ceremony.

Utilization of foreign capital has a visible impact on China's technological advance

Transnational corporations pick up steam to set up their R&D centers in China. At this point, 490 out of world top 500 companies have invested in China and established more than 1160 R&D centers here, which is conducive to technological spill-over to Chinese domestic enterprises.

Total Trading Volume of Foreign-Invested Companies(1986-2007).

In November 2006, Novartis Pharmaceutical Company announced their plan to set up a R&D center in China. 

Import and export of foreign-invested companies has greatly promoted China's  foreign trade

Foreign capital has promoted China's foreign trade, as evidenced by the following two aspects: the alarming increase of trade volume of foreign-invested companies, on one hand, expands China's foreign trade scale, and, on the other hand, promotes the updating of goods structure of China. In 2007, the trading volume of foreign-invested companies added up to $1.254928 trillion dollars, accounting for 57.73% of the national total. Among them, export volume of the foreign invested companies registered at $695.52 billion dollars, 57.1% of the national export aggregate; high-tech product export worth $287.432 billion, 86.67% of national total.

One of the largest Chinese-foreign joint ventures in China's medical and pharmaceutical industry-Xi'an Jenssen Pharmaceutical Company Limited.

Utilization of foreign capital creates numerous job opportunities

As the utilization of foreign capital grows, foreign-invested companies also have absorbed more labor force year on year. The number of employees in foreign invested companies exceeded 42 million in 2007 as against merely 60,000 in 1985, up by 700 times.

On October 8, 1990, McDonalds opened its first Chinese restaurant in Shenzhen.

Carrefour entered Hainan's market for the first time.

Foreign-invested companies promote China's industrial process

The industrial value of foreign-invested companies in 1990 took up only 1.9% in China's GDP then, whereas it skyrocketed to 12.503694 trillion RMB yuan in 2007, accounting for 30.9% of national industrial value (at current price).

The workers of Tianjin Faw Toyota Motort Co., Ltd is on duty.

Enterprises funded by Taiwan investors were set up in Jiangsu Province.

Foreign-invested companies have become China's indispensable source of tax

95% of China's foreign-related tax comes from foreign-invested companies. In 1982, foreign-related tax was barely 3 million RMB yuan, less than one ten-thousandth of the total industrial and commercial tax, whereas foreign-invested companies contributed to the tax revenue worth 195.1201 billion RMB yuan in 2007, equivalent to 3.8% of China's fiscal revenue.

Number of foreign-invested Enterprises by Sector in 2007.

Actually Utilized FDI by Sector in 2007.

American AIA Insurance Company sets up its Shanghai branch.

Utilization of foreign capital promotes the optimization of China's industrial structuring

In 2007, China boasted $74.77 billion dollars actually-utilized foreign capital, $920 million dollars for the primary industry, $42.85 billion dollars for the secondary industry, and $30.97 billion dollars for the tertiary industry, which accounted for 1.23%, 57.31%, and 41.46% of the total, respectively.

As China's Financial sector is open to the outside world, foreign-funded banks all spare no effort to make their presence in China.