DetailsChina published a reduced negative list for foreign investment on June 28 by National Development and Reform Commission (hereinafter NDRC) and Ministry of Commerce. The negative list came into effect on July 28, with the number of items reduced to 48 from 63, compared with the previous version.
The list, with the name of “Special Administrative Measures on Access to Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2018 Version),” will substitute the catalogue for access to foreign investment revised in 2017. The new list widens market access for foreign investment in primary, secondary and tertiary industries, including 22 opening-up measures in fields including finance, transportation, professional services, infrastructure, energy, resources as well as agriculture. The number of items on the new negative list was cut from 63 to 48, further reducing the scope of foreign investment needed for approval, the NDRC said. The new list also includes a timetable for opening-up in the automobile and finance fields.
The year of 2018 is the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy. Making public the new negative list is an important measure to implement the opening-up strategy and push forward high-level opening up, the NDRC said. The new round of opening-up will provide new impetus for attracting more foreign investment, promoting market competition and raising innovation capability. In recent years, China has reduced the number of restricted items on foreign investment by nearly two-thirds, and also significantly reformed the approval system for foreign investment. Under the negative-list-based approach, the fields not subject to the negative list are now administered by “filing for record” management.
“China’s economic development is a process of expanding its opening up,” the NDRC said, adding that with better industrial policy and legal environments, China has the foundation for opening up at a higher level. The new opening-up measures will further deepen investment cooperation between China and other countries and regions, and facilitate more exchanges in capitals, technologies, management and personnel than ever before. If you are to invest in China, you could ask a lawyer for help.