Recruiting in China

CHINESE companies' foreign investments jumped more than fourfold in the first quarter as the government encouraged spending overseas to help cut a surging trade gap.

Foreign direct investments rose to US$19.3 billion in the period, Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Jian said at an investment forum in Beijing yesterday. That compares to US$18.7 billion for the whole of 2007.

China has pledged to help companies invest overseas as it seeks to curb a trade surplus that threatens to overheat the economy, Bloomberg News said. Inflation has already hit an 11-year high, partly because of a flood of cash from Chinese exports.

The government is to talk to other countries about lowering barriers for Chinese companies to invest abroad.