By July 2000, it had approved 353,000 foreign-funded enterprises involving a contracted volume of US$641.7 billion, with US$327.7 billion actually used.

From January through July this year, approval was given to 11,891 foreign-funded enterprises, with a contracted volume of US$27.64 billion. These figures were 26.93 and 24.04 percent up on the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, the import and export also developed rapidly in the same period. Overall foreign trade reached US$257.6 billion, 36.3 percent up over the same period of last year, with a surplus of US$14.34 billion. Exports increased 35.8 percent and imports 36.8 percent.

In the new century, government officials have repeatedly pledged that China will widen its opening, deepen reforms in all undertakings, and create an even more favorable environment to lure foreign investment.

China will undertake a strategic readjustment of its economic structure and open more fields to embrace the quickening pace of economic globalization and technological advancement, creating a golden opportunity for foreign investors to make use of new economic growth points.

(CIIC)