On April 23, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Ling Ji hosted a roundtable meeting for foreign invested enterprises to exchange views with them on the impact of the US tariffs on their investment and operation in China.

Ling said President Xi Jinping pointed out during his meeting with representatives of the international business community on March 28 that FIEs, especially multinational corporations, play an important role in and bear important responsibilities for maintaining the global economic order. Recently, the unilateralism and bullying behaviour of the United States in indiscriminately applying tariffs have aroused strong dissatisfaction in the international community, seriously undermined the rule-based multilateral trading system and international economic and trade order, and impacted the stability of the global industrial and supply chains. Enterprises from all countries, including China, are all the victims. In order to safeguard its legitimate interests and international fairness and justice, China is resolute in its countermeasures. We hope that FIEs will make rational voices, hold confidence, overcome difficulties, turn crisis into opportunity, and work together to defeat unilateralism and protectionism. China will continue to expand high-standard opening up, effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of FIEs, take a more proactive role in solving problems for FIEs in China, endeavour to ensure the stability of indusrtrial and supply chains, and promote the resolution of problems and requests of FIEs.

Representatives of participating enterprises said that President Xi Jinping’s important speech on 28 March has brought confidence and courage to FIEs to overcome difficulties. In the face of the severe and complicated external environment, the Chinese government has always attached great importance to solving the problems encountered by FIEs in their development in China, and insisted on expanding opening up to the outside world with consistent, stable and predictable foreign investment policies. Participating enterprises said that they are ready to continue to invest in China, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and jointly cope with the challenges.

The event was hosted by the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (CAEFI) and attended by more than 80 FIEs and foreign chambers of commerce in China. Heads of relevant departments and bureaus of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs and the National Medical Products Administration participated in the meeting and responded to the questions and requests reported by enterprises.