Original Chinese government website
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2024 Edition), which will come into force on November 1, 2024.
The 2024 version of the National Negative List for Foreign Investment Access has reduced the number of restrictive measures from 31 to 29, deleting two items: "the printing of publications must be controlled by the Chinese party", and "it is prohibited to invest in the application of steaming, frying, broiling, calcining and other processing technologies of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces and the production of confidential prescription products for proprietary Chinese medicines", and the restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector have been "cleared".
Fields not included in the negative list shall be managed in accordance with the principle of consistency between domestic and foreign investment, and national treatment shall be given to foreign-invested enterprises. The latest version of the "negative list" is a picture ↓
Relevant responsible comrades of the National Development and Reform Commission answer reporters' questions on the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2024 Edition).
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Please introduce the background of the 2024 version of the national negative list for foreign investment access.
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In October 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping announced at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector would be completely lifted. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) demanded that we must adhere to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world, persist in promoting reform through opening-up, rely on the advantages of the mainland's super-large-scale market, enhance the ability of opening up in the process of expanding international cooperation, and build a new system of a higher-level open economy. This year's "Government Work Report" proposes to continue to reduce the negative list for foreign investment access. Under the new situation, the introduction of a new version of the negative list for foreign investment access is an important measure to expand high-level opening up, which will help increase the supply of high-quality products and services and promote healthy competition in the domestic market. It will also provide a broader space for multinational companies to develop in China and promote international cooperation and mutual benefit.
From 2017 to 2021, the mainland has revised the negative list for foreign investment access nationwide and in the pilot free trade zones for five consecutive years, reducing the restrictive measures in the two lists from 93 and 122 to 31 and 27 respectively, and launching a series of major opening measures in the fields of manufacturing, mining, agriculture and finance, among which the negative list for foreign investment access in the pilot free trade zone has taken the lead in achieving "zero" in 2021.
In order to implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on the comprehensive abolition of restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector and the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission has further strengthened its work, extensively listened to the opinions and suggestions of local, multinational companies and business associations, and conducted in-depth research and demonstration of opening up measures with relevant industry authorities, and on this basis, revised and formed the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2024 Edition) to continue to expand opening up.
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What are the opening measures for the 2024 version of the National Negative List for Foreign Investment Access?
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Compared with the 2021 version, the 2024 version of the national negative list for foreign investment access removes the only two remaining restrictions in the manufacturing sector, one is that "the printing of publications must be controlled by the Chinese party", and the other is "it is forbidden to invest in the application of processing technologies such as steaming, stir-frying, broiling and calcining of traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces and the production of confidential prescription products for proprietary Chinese medicines". After this revision, the restrictive measures on the national negative list for foreign investment access have been reduced from 31 to 29, and the restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector have been completely abolished.
Manufacturing is the earliest field of opening up in the mainland, and it is also the field with the most adequate market competition and the closest cooperation in the global industrial division of labor. The complete abolition of restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector fully demonstrates the mainland's positive will to expand international cooperation and its clear attitude of supporting economic globalization. Relying on its own super-large-scale market advantages, the mainland will support exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises, and promote the high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry.
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The revision has completely abolished the restrictive measures in the manufacturing sector, what are the future considerations for expanding the opening up of the service sector?
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The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) deployed to reasonably reduce the negative list for foreign investment access, implement the comprehensive lifting of restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector, and promote the orderly expansion and opening up of telecommunications, Internet, education, culture, medical care and other fields. After the revision of the negative list, the restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector in mainland China have been "cleared", and new progress has been made in high-level opening-up.
The high-quality development of the service industry is closely related to people's livelihood and well-being, and expanding the opening up of the service industry will help enhance the diversified supply capacity of the service industry. The National Development and Reform Commission will continue to promote the expansion and opening up of the service industry with relevant departments, and strive to realize that foreign investment can not only "enter", but also "develop well". On the one hand, we will innovate ways to relax foreign investment access in the service sector. Since the beginning of this year, the relevant industry authorities have launched pilot work in the fields of value-added telecommunications. Subsequently, the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant industry authorities to carry out the pilot work of opening up in relevant fields in combination with the construction of platforms such as pilot free trade zones and free trade ports. On the other hand, we will continue to optimize the foreign investment promotion policy. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is studying the revision of the catalogue of industries that encourage foreign investment, and one of the key directions is to continue to increase the number of items in the service industry and guide more foreign investment in the service sector.
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How to ensure the implementation of the 2024 version of the national negative list for foreign investment access? For the newly opened field, how to do a good job in risk prevention and control while opening up?
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The 2024 version of the National Negative List for Foreign Investment Access will come into force on 1 November 2024. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with the Ministry of Commerce and other departments and regions, will strictly follow the requirements of the Foreign Investment Law and its implementing regulations, earnestly implement the negative list, and ensure the timely implementation of the new opening up measures.
In recent years, the mainland's laws and regulations have been gradually improved, and the market supervision mechanism has been continuously improved, laying a good institutional foundation for high-level opening up. For the newly opened field, the mainland has established a relatively standardized and mature industry supervision system, and in the future, it will implement management in accordance with the principle of consistency between domestic and foreign investment, rather than "just let it go". Foreign investors investing in projects in newly opened fields in China are required to comply with the relevant laws, regulations, regulatory provisions, and industry standards in the same way as domestic investors. On the premise of ensuring security, we will expand opening-up and achieve high-quality development and high-level security and benign interaction.
Interpretation of the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2024 Edition) by the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce
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The significance of the revision of the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2024 Edition).
General Secretary Xi Jinping announced at the opening ceremony of the third "Belt and Road" Forum for International Cooperation that restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will be completely lifted. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) called for improving the system and mechanism of high-level opening-up, deepening the reform of the foreign investment and foreign investment management system, reasonably reducing the negative list for foreign investment access, and implementing the comprehensive abolition of restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector.
In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, has revised and promulgated the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2024 Edition) on the basis of extensively listening to the opinions and suggestions of various localities, multinational corporations and business associations, and completely abolished the restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector.
The complete lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector is an important measure to build a modern industrial system, which will help the mainland participate in the global industrial division of labor and cooperation at a deeper level, and create a more open and resilient industrial and supply chain. It is an important measure to improve the scale and quality of investment, which is conducive to further guiding foreign investment in advanced manufacturing, high-tech and other fields, continuously optimizing the investment structure, and accelerating the development of new quality productivity; It is an important measure to deepen the reform of the foreign investment management system, and the implementation of consistent management of domestic and foreign investment on a larger scale will further enhance the marketization, rule of law and internationalization of the business environment, and inject positive impetus into deepening the supply-side structural reform and promoting high-quality development.
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The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) considers the implementation of the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2024 Edition).
The Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2024 Edition) will come into effect on 1 November 2024. The Ministry of Commerce will thoroughly study and comprehend the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and work with relevant departments and localities to strictly abide by the Foreign Investment Law and its implementing regulations, and do a good job in implementing the negative list for foreign investment access after it is issued. We will strengthen the publicity of the new opening-up measures, and at the same time closely follow up and understand the implementation effects through the roundtable meeting of foreign-funded enterprises, so as to ensure that areas outside the negative list for foreign investment access are managed in accordance with the principle of consistency between domestic and foreign investment, and effectively give national treatment to foreign-funded enterprises, so as to promote in-depth reform and high-quality development with high-level opening-up, so that more multinational companies can share the opportunities of investing in China, and more foreign-funded enterprises can operate and develop in China for a long time with peace of mind.