People’s Republic of China: Study of Cross-Border Investment in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its Impacts on Business Practices of PRC Multinational Enterprises for Promoting Social and Economic Development

Proposed

The People's Republic of China (PRC)'s reform and opening-up policy has brought many social and economic developments to the country. After four decades of high growth and economic opening, the policy has created employment and business opportunities, raised incomes per capita and living standards, eliminated absolute poverty, and turned the Chinese economy into the world's second largest by gross domestic product. Over this period, many Chinese firms and multinational enterprises (MNEs) have expanded their businesses and produced innovation at the forefront of technology. They have increasingly become integral to trade and investment in Asia and the Pacific region, and the improvements of their business practices thus have the growing increased their potential to contribute to the social and economic development of other developing countries sustainable development goals (SDGs). This TA will support the PRC and other ADB's developing member countries (DMCs) through a study of the cross-border investment in the PRC and its impacts on business practices of Chinese MNEs for promoting social and economic development. Knowledge sharing of the lessons learnt from the study will be organized. For this TA, cross-border investment refers to the utilization of long-term foreign capital, covering long-term international loans and bonds, official development assistance (ODA), and foreign direct investment (FDI). The TA will support the improvement of business practices of Chinese MNEs in the PRC and, through their investments, in other countries, strengthening Chinese MNEs' contribution to sustainable development of the PRC through trade and investment channels. The TA's outcome will be improved business practices of Chinese MNEs promoted, which will be beneficial for the PRC and for promoting social and economic development for other DMCs. The outputs and activities of this TA will inform government policies on cross-border investment and shape business practices for Chinese MNEs to optimize their impact on social and economic development. By providing improved knowledge and capacity building in these areas, the TA can support the PRC and other DMCs toward achieving SDGs. The TA will produce (i) an assessment of cross-border investment and business practices of MNEs for promoting social and economic development of the PRC; (ii) a roadmap for improved business practices for Chinese MNEs for promoting social and economic development; and (iii) capacity-building and knowledge-sharing activities to enhance knowledge and readiness of Chinese MNEs to improve their business practices. These TA deliverables will enhance the impact of MNEs' strong support for high-quality development of the PRC. The TA outputs will be prepared through case studies, surveys, data analysis, and capacity-building and knowledge-sharing activities. The TA will consider key aspects of the cross-border investments and MNEs (e.g., industry sector and scale, types of investment and duration, and business operations). Key development indicators (e.g., employment, skill improvement and education, business registrations, growths of investment, trade, and income per capita) will be studied to understand the impacts of investments by MNEs on social and economic development. The TA will prepare policy advice, conduct capacity-building activities, and disseminate knowledge.