SHANGHAI, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Surrounded by goods shelves and an assortment of commodities, representatives from eight foreign-funded companies attended a briefing held in one of Walmart's Sam's Club warehouse stores in Shanghai on Friday.
It was the first time for Shanghai to hold a briefing in a supermarket. Earlier on Friday, Shanghai rolled out 24 new measures to further attract foreign investments. To interpret these measures, the municipal government organized the briefing.
"In no place other than a supermarket with customers choosing goods, can we witness China's productivity and consumption power more directly. Holding a briefing here may not only reassure companies about China's economy but also help boost their confidence in it," said Yang Chao, deputy head of the city's commerce commission.
During the briefing, the humming of customers' footsteps and their conversations with shop assistants could be heard. Representatives enjoyed the lively atmosphere, for they were also eager to see the economy springing back to life after work resumption.
Shanghai is one of China's main hubs for foreign investments, while foreign investments play a crucial role as Shanghai takes steps to build an open economy. Therefore, the 24 new measures would be taken up to promote foreign investments during the COVID-19 epidemic, said Yang.
According to Yang, the measures involve expanding opening-up, promoting and facilitating foreign investments, and strengthening the protection of foreign investors' interests.
"These measures are of great value to foreign investors and are worth studying," he said.
For instance, one of the new measures is set to expand opening-up in key fields such as telecommunication, education and technical services in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and its newly launched sector Lingang area. Once having learned of it, a foreign investor immediately made an application to the city's commerce commission.
"Shanghai is internationally known as a pioneer of China's opening up. Openness, innovation and inclusiveness have always been the city's most prominent characteristics," Zhang said, noting that Shanghai would implement the Foreign Investment Law and further shorten the negative list of foreign investments this year.
"We never lost hope in the Chinese market," said Wang Wei, president of Allergan China. Allergan, a Dublin-headquartered pharmaceutical company, invested 18.75 million U.S. dollars in a medical equipment company in the Shanghai free trade zone last year.
