A senior Chinese trade official Monday suggested Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) investment forums is hosted in turn by its six member states, and a special fund and working team be established for the promotion of SCO investment.
Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Ma Xiuhong made the remarks at an SCO investment forum held at the Sixth China International Fair for Investment and Trade.
Ma said regional investment cooperation is very important for the SCO's trade minister meeting mechanism, which aims to boost trade and investment. She noted that all member countries should cooperate to achieve goals that cannot be reached bilaterally.
SCO countries can promote investment through coordination and negotiations over market access conditions, foreign fund management, taxation, protection of investors' interests, dispute solution mechanisms, transparency of laws and regulations, establishment of clean and efficient administrative institutions and open and fair market systems, she said.
Ma added that SCO countries could also promote investment through individual enterprises, joint ventures, mergers, purchases or even attraction of funds from outside the region.
Focusing on some key programs, China will study the feasibility of multilateral projects involving energy, transportation, telecommunications, environmental protection and agriculture, she said.
The SCO, established in June 2001, is made up of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
(Xinhua News Agency September 10, 2002)
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