Open Arms to Foreign Investment in China's Political Heart... "Support for Beijing R&D Center"

Beijing, the political capital of China, is putting its all into attracting foreign investment and has announced plans to support foreign-funded research and development (R&D) projects with billions of won.

According to local media such as China Securities Journal on the 3rd, at the China International Fair for Trade in Services being held in Beijing, the city announced the "Measures to Support the Development of Foreign-Invested R&D Centers" with these details.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

The measures include support in five areas: improvement and expansion of foreign-invested R&D centers, conducting cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation, enhancing the level of R&D promotion, strengthening comprehensive factor guarantees, and improving services. In particular, Beijing explained that it would provide up to 50 million yuan (approximately 9.1 billion won) in financial support for the development of foreign-invested R&D centers. Additionally, up to 20 million yuan will be provided for expansion or upgrades.

Local media reported, "Foreign-invested R&D centers are an important part of scientific and technological innovation, playing a crucial role not only in introducing international advanced technology and high-level talent but also in expanding international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation."

Last year, Beijing also promulgated the "Regulations on the Establishment and Development Support of Foreign-Invested R&D Centers" and has continuously introduced related measures. Currently, there are a total of 73 foreign-invested R&D centers in Beijing. The scale of R&D activities in fields such as information technology (IT), medicine and health, and intelligent manufacturing reached 800 million yuan, a 44% increase compared to the previous year.

Earlier, the State Council of China issued the "Opinions on Improving the Foreign Investment Environment and Expanding Foreign Investment Attraction," emphasizing that "more proactive and effective efforts must be made to attract investment from foreign enterprises and promote a high level of opening-up."

According to the opinions, the Chinese government will strengthen foreign investment attraction in key areas such as biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, modern services, and the digital economy, and encourage foreign companies to establish R&D centers within China. The government also pledged to guarantee equal treatment for foreign enterprises by creating an environment where they can participate in government procurement projects on the same basis as domestic companies.

In particular, the government will strengthen intellectual property protection to safeguard investment rights and interests, encourage reinvestment in China through financial and tax support, and announced convenience improvement measures such as simplifying residency policies for foreign employees and establishing secure data channels.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.