Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and nine other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Several Measures to Support the Innovation and Upgrading of National-Level Economic and Technological Development Zones to Better Play Their Exemplary Role."
The term "foreign investment" appears frequently throughout key sections of the document.
It is clear that stabilizing foreign investment and promoting its growth will be a key focus for national-level economic and technological development zones in 2023.

Strengthening Support for Investment Promotion

The "Notice" is straightforward, stating in its very first section: "Strengthen support for investment promotion."
How exactly will this support be provided?
The document points out that efforts should be made to "broaden investment promotion resources":

1. Leverage the advantages of platforms such as the China International Investment and Trade Fair and the China International Import Expo to intensify promotional efforts for national-level economic and technological development zones.

2. Explore the possibility of selecting eligible officials from national-level economic and technological development zones to work in commercial offices at Chinese embassies and consulates abroad, thereby broadening channels for international exchange.

The first point is to leverage platform advantages.
We are all very familiar with major exhibitions that bridge China and the world, such as the China International Investment and Trade Fair and the China International Import Expo.
In the new year, we must “step up promotional efforts.”
This is actually a two-way process.
Relevant departments will certainly provide support—and even greater support at that—while national-level economic and technological development zones must become more open and innovative to secure more foreign investment projects.
Vigorous promotion is crucial, but targeted promotion is even more critical.
How can we more effectively convey the advantages of national-level economic and technological development zones to foreign enterprises with investment intentions?
The second point is precisely to address the issue of precision.
The "Notice" calls for exploring new mechanisms: directly selecting officials from national-level economic and technological development zones to work at embassies and consulates abroad.

As the saying goes, a single meeting is worth a thousand emails.
The “10,000 Officials in 10,000 Enterprises” special campaign launched across the country in recent years follows the same principle.
Why are enterprises reluctant to expand production or increase investment? Have they encountered operational challenges? By stationing officials directly within enterprises, issues can be identified and resolved on the front lines.
For foreign-invested enterprises scattered across the globe, the “10,000 Officials in 10,000 Enterprises” model may be difficult to replicate. In that case, we should start by stationing officials at embassies and consulates abroad.
Of course, this mechanism is merely a starting point.
Further institutional and systemic innovations must be explored through practical experience by hundreds of national-level economic and technological development zones.
In recent years, many national-level economic and technological development zones have collaborated with third-party investment promotion agencies to broaden their approaches to attracting industrial projects and high-caliber talent—a highly effective strategy.
Additionally, the “Notice” mentions “fully utilizing financial policies” and “leveraging the synergistic advantages of open platforms.”

This is virtually a solemn pledge: as long as one dares to pioneer and take initiative, funding will not be an issue, and policy support will certainly be in place.

Rewarding the Advanced, Motivating the Lagging

It is worth noting that the Notice opens with the following statement:

Support national-level economic and technological development zones that rank highly in comprehensive development assessments to innovate and upgrade, thereby better fulfilling their exemplary role.

National-level development zones that rank highly in comprehensive evaluations will naturally receive greater support in terms of institutional mechanisms, resource allocation, and environmental capacity.
In recent years, provincial, municipal, and county-level governments have all implemented ranking systems for investment promotion performance evaluations, and national-level development zones are no exception—competition is extremely fierce.
In 2020, the Ministry of Commerce further proposed breaking the "entry-only, no exit" system, stating that national-level development zones must also implement "last-place elimination."
That same year, one economic development zone was removed from the list of national-level zones after ranking among the bottom five for two consecutive years.
To cope with the fierce competition, national-level economic development zones have already implemented bottom-tier elimination internally.
For example, in 2020, the three national-level development zones in Wuhan piloted a system of competitive hiring for all staff and bottom-tier elimination, testing the principles of “pay based on position” and “pay based on performance.”
The trend of last-place elimination has now spread to provincial-level economic and technological development zones.
In 2021, Zhejiang Province issued the "Zhejiang Provincial Development Zone Comprehensive Evaluation Measures," stipulating that provincial-level development zones ranking in the bottom five for three consecutive years may have their status revoked.
However, "the new evaluation measures not only push 'laggards' to improve but also provide comprehensive rewards for 'top performers.'
For provincial-level development zones that rank in the top three in the comprehensive evaluation for three consecutive years, Zhejiang will give priority to recommending them to the Ministry of Commerce for designation as national-level economic and technological development zones.

Now is the time to go all out for economic development—we must take action.

Global Supply Chain Reshuffle
Attracting Foreign Investment Requires All-Out Efforts

Three years have passed, and the world remains a different place.
Today, the world is witnessing a turbulent restructuring of supply chains, with foreign investment giants splitting into three camps.
One wave is “rushing” to China, another is heading to India and Vietnam, and yet another is accelerating its return to the United States.
Apple, TSMC, Microsoft, Intel, Tesla, Saudi Aramco… These industry giants have gone their separate ways, triggering an epic migration on a scale comparable to continental drift.
Amid this industrial shift, China has also witnessed three waves of so-called “Don’t Let XXX Get Away” public debates:
Don’t let Terry Gou get away!
Don’t let Li Ka-shing leave!
Don’t let Tim Cook leave!
Whether it’s seeking to “move away from low-end manufacturing” by increasing investment in capital- and technology-intensive sectors, or “deleveraging” to move away from an investment-driven growth model, all of this reflects China’s process of bidding farewell to traditional development models and driving industrial upgrading—a clear testament to the shift in economic development.
In this process, some companies will inevitably leave China, while others will come.
What kind of example will the leading national-level economic and technological development zones set for the rest of the country? Will they forge ahead with all their might? Or will they blaze a new trail and achieve something extraordinary?

We’ll have to wait and see.