China will double down on strengthening the role of national economic and technological development zones, optimizing national service industry pilot demonstrations, and promoting various platforms for opening up, as part of the effort to attract foreign investment, said an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Sunday. China has reaffirmed its commitment to fostering a more open and investment-friendly economy with the release of a new action plan on stabilizing and promoting foreign investment in 2025. It one again made a pledge to attract foreign investment during this year's annual sessions of the national legislature and the top political advisory body earlier this month. According to the MOC, there are currently 232 national economic and technological development zones in China. Despite accounting for less than 0.3 percent of the country's total land area, these zones contribute 10 percent of China's GDP and over one-fifth of paid-in total foreign investment. In 2024, the 11 provinces and cities participating in the integrated demonstration endeavors for opening up the service sector attracted a total of 41.3 billion U.S. dollars in foreign investment, accounting for approximately 50.2 percent of total foreign investment in China's service sector. The 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, released in February, also emphasizes enhancing the effectiveness of platforms for opening up, improving the level of export-oriented economic development in national economic and technological development zones, and implementing upgrading strategies for free trade zones. Recent surveys also support this optimistic outlook. A survey report released by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China showed that 58 percent of its member companies will increase or maintain their investment scale in China this year. The American Chamber of Commerce in China also released a report indicating that 53 percent of the surveyed American companies plan to increase their investment in China in 2025. Shotlist: Beijing, China - March 16, 2025: FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown 1. Aerial shots of cityscape; 2. Intelligent control center; 3. Various of factory floor, equipment; smart production lines, products; Beijing, China - March 16, 2025 4. Meeting convened by China Public Relations Association in progress; 5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Ya, deputy director general, Department of Foreign Investment Administration, Ministry of Commerce: "With the implementation of the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, we believe foreign enterprises will have greater opportunities for development in China."; FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown 6. Various of factory floor, equipment; 7. Various of entrance to elderly care center; elderly people; 8. Various of foreign doctor with patients; medical workers; 9. Various of cityscape, traffic. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]