China considers policies to encourage overseas business

BEIJING - China will introduce more favorable policies to help domestic enterprises go global, an official from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said.

The MOC will partner with other ministries to push policies for outbound investment, cooperation among countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, encouraging high value-added investments, and improving information services and risk-control measures for overseas businesses, said Zhou Zhencheng, vice director of the Department of Outward Investment and Economic Cooperation under the MOC at a conference on Sunday.

While outbound investment in China is growing at a fast pace, it's still at a preliminary level compared with developed countries and faces challenges such as a lack of innovation and growing geopolitical risk, Zhou said.

China's overseas nonfinancial investment during the first 10 months of 2015 surged 16.3 percent year on year to hit 589.2 billion yuan ($92.2 billion), covering 5,553 companies across 152 countries and regions, according to data from the MOC.

Outbound direct investment in 49 nations along the Belt and Road routes totaled $13.17 billion during the period, up 36.7 percent year on year.

The growth of outbound investment will continue to surpass the rise in foreign direct investment, Zhou predicted.