ABSTRACT
Foreign direct investment in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is on the increase following the implementation of the open-door policy in 1978, and the establishment of the four Special Economic Zones, supplemented in 1984 by the opening of 14 coastal cities, namely Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Yantai, Qingtao, Lianyungang, Nantong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang and Baihai. Zhejiang Province began setting up overseas non-trade enterprises in 1982. Up to 1991, there were 29 overseas production enterprises approved by the Zhejiang Provincial Government. During the first six months of 1992, Tianjin approved 15 overseas enterprises, more than half of which are in the former Soviet Union. The first generation of enterprises in Hong Kong was set up before the Communist Party took over China in 1949. Among them were the China Resources Co., the China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. and the Hong Kong branches of the Bank of China.
