In a significant move to attract global investors, China’s top economic planners announced on Sunday the complete lifting of foreign investment restrictions in the manufacturing sector. This change comes with the release of the 2024 version of the negative list for foreign investment access.
Jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), the updated negative list reduces the number of restricted sectors from 31 to 29, effectively eliminating all restrictions in the manufacturing arena.
\"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,\" stated Meng Huating, deputy head of the foreign investment department at the MOC.
An expert from the MOC highlighted that China plans to further expand the catalog of industries to encourage foreign investment in the future. \"Such adjustments will create more opportunities for the development of foreign capital in China,\" added Zhang Wei, vice president of the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the MOC.
Since the release and implementation of its first negative list for foreign investment access in 2013, China has steadily streamlined its policies. The national version of the list has been reduced to 29 items in the non-manufacturing sector from the original 93.
Data from Zhang indicates that foreign capital utilized in China’s high-tech fields has surged to 37.4 percent of the total foreign capital utilized in the country, marking a 10 percent increase from 2017 to 2023.
The NDRC will collaborate with the MOC and other departments and regions to establish a system for implementing the negative list, ensuring the timely rollout of these new measures.
Reference(s):
China to lift foreign investment access restrictions in manufacturing
cgtn.com
