China and 111 other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) signed a joint declaration on investment facilitation on Friday, the trade ministry said on Saturday.

The 112 WTO members, including the EU, Russia and Japan, aim to complete negotiations on the investment facilitation text by the end of 2022 and push for a final multilateral deal, said the ministry in a press release published on its website.

The G20 guiding principles for global investment policy making were established at the G20 summit in Hangzhou in 2016. To reflect the summit’s results, China and various other WTO members have launched discussions on investment facilitation in 2017. Formal negotiations began in 2020, with Chile currently serving as coordinator.

Investment facilitation involves improving the transparency of investment policies globally, simplifying and accelerating investment approval procedures, and promoting international cooperation. So far, the participating parties have reached a preliminary consensus on the framework and the main rules of the agreement.

Once the agreement is concluded, it will create a more transparent, stable and predictable environment for global investors and promote the development of global investment and trade. It will also help Chinese companies to globalize more effectively, said Zhou Nianli, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics.