offshoreOutsourcing2China

China Encourages Foreign Entrepreneurs & Investors to Establish Businesses in Country’s West Regions

China will make it easier for foreign investors and entrepreneurs to start businesses in the country, especially in its western provinces, the government said in a statement released after the latest State Council meeting on Wednesday.

It said China would open a wider range of sectors such IT, software outsourcing to foreign investors and entrepreneurs and would encourage them to establish labor-intensive businesses in the west, the State Council, or cabinet, decided at a routine meeting.

The cabinet’s decision will serve as a guideline for local governments to develop specific policies for implementation.

China drew $77.9 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first 11 months of 2009, 9.9% less than in the same period of 2008.

Inflows, which surged in the years after the country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, are in the midst of recovering after being hit hard late last year by the global economic slowdown.