RECENT efforts to improve the business climate for foreign businesses, including measures to facilitate the entry of company executives and their family members, will help China integrate more deeply into the global economy, said officials and experts. In a policy document published June 29, the State Council unveiled steps to deepen reforms in five free trade zones — Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian and Beijing — as well as in the Hainan Free Trade Port, as part of efforts to boost institutional opening up. Spouses and family members of executives who have been transferred to foreign-invested businesses in pilot areas, enjoy similar entry and residency periods as executives. Meanwhile, executives of foreign businesses planning to establish new subsidiaries in pilot regions will be granted a maximum period of two years’ residency, the document said. Yang Zhengwei, an official from the Ministry of Commerce, said that the measures are intended to help foreign executives bring their families to China, and to make the country more attractive to global talent. The measure to extend the period of stay for executives opening new branches in free trade zones will help attract foreign investment, he added. The moves come as foreign direct investment on the Chinese mainland dropped 2.7% year on year to 703.65 billion yuan (US$97.47 billion) in the first half of the year, according to data from the ministry. (China Daily) | 