Beijing, October 15 — In a significant move to attract more foreign investment, China’s top economic planner announced on Sunday that restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will be lifted with the release of the 2024 version of the negative list for foreign investment access.
The updated negative list, jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), will take effect on November 1. The new list reduces the number of restrictions from 31 to 29, effectively eliminating all barriers in the manufacturing sector.
“The comprehensive lifting of restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector is conducive to further guiding foreign investment towards advanced manufacturing and high-tech fields, continuously optimizing the investment structure, and accelerating the development of new quality productive forces,” said Meng Huating, deputy head of the foreign investment department at the MOC.
Experts at the MOC indicated that China will further expand the catalog of industries to encourage foreign investment in the future. Zhang Wei, vice president of the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the MOC, remarked, “Such adjustments will create more opportunities for the development of foreign capital in China.”
China introduced its first negative list for foreign investment access in 2013. Over the past decade, the list has undergone several revisions, significantly streamlining the access for foreign investors. The national version has been reduced to 29 items in the non-manufacturing sector from the original 93 items.
According to Zhang, foreign capital utilized in China’s high-tech fields has reached 37.4 percent of the total foreign capital utilized in the country, marking an increase of 10 percent from 2017 to 2023.
The NDRC will collaborate with the MOC and other departments and regions to establish a system to implement the new negative list, ensuring the timely rollout of the measures.
Reference(s):
China to lift foreign investment access restrictions in manufacturing
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