问答题 {{B}}Passage 1{{/B}} I am very pleased to be back at the Xiamen International Investment Fair again. The level of interest and attendance recognizes the Fair's importance and high standing with the international investment community. I congratulate MOEFEC and all those concerned with organizing the Fair, including of course the Xiamen authorities. // When I was here last year we were on the threshold of China's entry to WTO. This year membership is a reality. That is one of the most significant developments to occur on the world stage in recent times. It takes a huge step furthering the process of integrating China into the world economy. There will be difficulties for Chinese companies and their employees in some sectors, particularly the SOEs, in adjusting to international competition. That is inevitable. But I believe that once those transitional difficulties are overcome, the positive benefits for China and for world trade will be immense. I admire the courage and the vision of China's leaders and people in picking up this challenge. // This year's theme is the role of international investment in creating a competitive advantage. In Britain we are thoroughly persuaded of that role. Our experience of inward investment is wholly positive. Total inward investment to the UK has now reached some~500 billion. It has created nearly 160,000 new jobs in Britain in the last three years alone. It has helped us develop and modernize our industrial base. It has introduced new products and processes. It has brought in technology and management expertise. No wonder we are whole-heartedly in favor of it! // Inward investment did not just come to us by chance. We had to work hard to create the right climate for it. Why did countries choose to invest in Britain? We are a stable country. We have a strong rule of law. We have a minimum of red tape for foreign investors. We freed up our market more than our continental European neighbors. We kept our labor costs low. We treated foreign investors and domestic producers equally. We do not mind who owns a company, so long as the business and the jobs are in Britain. // But one factor counts above all others: investment in Britain is profitable for the investor as well as beneficial for our country. That is the single most important reason why we have attracted for instance 45 percent of all Japanese inward investment in Europe and 60 percent of all Korean investment in Europe. // We hope before long to attract significant investment from China as well. To help do that we are going to spread the news in China of just how creative and innovative the British economy now is. We shall be organizing an important campaign of exhibitions and events in China this year with more to come in 2003 under the title: Britain—the Leading Edge. I hope many of you will visit the first events in Shanghai next month. // British companies know the China market well and remain keen to invest there and the China- Britain Business Council of which I am President gives them every encouragement and help to do so. Both our trade and our investment are at record levels and Britain is Europe's largest investor in China by a very considerable margin. Recent examples have included BP's investment in China's oil and gas industry and Shell's commitment to invest in the East and West oil pipeline. // I have every confidence that willingness to invest will continue so long as British firms see steady improvement in market conditions and access. There are people who oppose foreign investment, arguing that it means exporting British jobs. But that is a shortsighted view. // In a global economy, emerging markets will always be able to produce well-educated and highly-trainable workers at far lower cost than in the UK. We know that the right answer is not to inhibit foreign investment but instead to move our own economic activity towards high technology and knowledge- based industries. That is exactly what we are doing. // ("International Investment Creates an International Competitive Advantage", by Lord Charles Powell, President of the China-Britain Business Council at Xiamen International Investment Fair, September 8, 2002)