Angle: Behind the growth quotas of large-scale overseas tourism in cities in China to attract foreign investment | Reuters

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Large delegations of Chinese city and business executives have been touring Asia and Europe since December. The aim is to attract foreign investment on a large scale at a time when local governments are being forced to meet growth and employment targets.

A detailed picture emerged after reviewing authorities’ social media accounts and interviewing three people who met with the delegation.

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For three years, China has closed its borders under a “zero corona” policy aimed at completely containing the novel coronavirus at the expense of economic activity. However, as soon as this policy was lifted, delegations from Hong Kong to Paris were dispatched one after another and went to various places.

A person familiar with the meeting with the Chinese delegation in Hong Kong said the haste underscored the pressure on local governments to boost growth despite $9 trillion in debt.

“Governments at all levels are under clear pressure to meet ambitious targets,” said Eric Yim, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council elected from among Chinese business representatives. He added that amid geopolitical and trade tensions with the United States, the mission was focusing on regions outside the United States.

Last week, at the Boao Forum for Asia, dubbed Asia’s version of Davos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasized the “opening up” of China’s economy and pledged to attract foreign investors.

Two prominent Hong Kong business executives expressed unprecedented determination to meet with members of the Chinese delegation to secure investment funds for projects as diverse as ports, biotechnology, arts and sports. He said he was.

“China needs foreign capital to revive its economy. We’ve never done so many people at such a niche level in such a short period of time,” one of them said.

In some cases, eight to 10 engagements with the Chinese were scheduled a day, another executive and Mr. Lin recalled.

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A 200-member delegation attended a private meeting on Dec. 9 last year, two days after the central government lifted the zero-corona restrictions, according to a video posted by the Jiangsu provincial government on the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin. I jet-set to Europe and plan to hold more than 230 business negotiations there. When boarding the plane, the members could be seen shouting slogans such as “take new orders and open the market”.

While many foreign investors still complain about an unfair playing field for foreign companies, a lack of intellectual property protection and unpredictable regulatory practices, some cities are touting the establishment in negotiations.

For example, an official from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said on social media last week that he had agreed to negotiate an investment in a German construction company.

Fujian’s Futian city signed 13 investment contracts worth 21.8 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) in new energy, finance, fashion and other fields, and sent delegations to Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, near Shanghai, held 85 signing ceremonies, and the delegation visited Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen within seven days, securing investments worth 156 billion yuan.

As far as Shenzhen is concerned, the Bao’an district alone plans to attract 100 billion yuan in foreign investment this year, according to Chinese media reports. “Shenzhen will do everything possible to ensure investment, projects and progress this year. Stable growth is the top priority,” the city’s party secretary said, according to the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily.

(Reporter Clare Jim)