With the consent of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce issued Decree No. 32 and Decree No. 33 on 23 June 2020 to promulgate the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2020 Version) and the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access in the Pilot Free Trade Zone (Negative List) (2020 Version) respectively, effective from 23 July 2020 The Special Administrative Measures on Access to Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition) will come into effect on 23 July 2020. The Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2019 Edition) and the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access in the Pilot Free Trade Zone (Negative List) (2019 Edition) are simultaneously repealed.

Since this year, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has dealt a huge blow to global cross-border investment, and the world economy has been seriously affected. The release of the 2020 version of the Negative List for Foreign Investment Access is an important step to implement the deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council and to implement a wider scope, broader areas and deeper comprehensive opening, and is also the latest supporting document to promote the negative list management system after the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law, demonstrating China's unswerving determination to support economic globalisation and cross-border investment, and will further improve the foreign investment environment to It will further improve the foreign investment environment and promote high-quality economic development with a higher level of openness.

This revision further reduces the negative list of foreign investment access in accordance with the principle of only reducing and not increasing. The national negative list for foreign investment access has been reduced from 40 to 33 articles. The negative list for foreign investment access in the Pilot Free Trade Zone has been reduced from 37 to 30 articles. Major changes.

I. The process of opening up key areas of the service industry was accelerated

The restriction on foreign shareholding in securities companies, securities investment fund management companies, futures companies, and life insurance companies has been abolished in the financial sector. In the infrastructure sector, the requirement that the construction and operation of water supply and drainage networks in cities with a population of 500,000 or more must be controlled by a Chinese party has been removed.

II. Relaxing access to manufacturing and agriculture

In the manufacturing sector, the restriction on foreign shareholding in commercial vehicle manufacturing will be liberalised, and the prohibition on foreign investment in radioactive mineral smelting and processing and nuclear fuel production will be removed. In the agricultural sector, the requirement for Chinese ownership in the selection and breeding of new wheat varieties and seed production has been relaxed to no less than 34% Chinese ownership.

III. Continue to conduct pilot liberalisation in the Pilot Free Trade Zone

The Pilot Free Trade Zone will continue to conduct early and pilot tests based on the national liberalisation measures. The prohibition on foreign investment in Chinese medicine beverages will be removed in the pharmaceutical sector. In the education sector, wholly foreign-owned vocational education institutions of the academic type will be allowed to be established.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce will work with all regions and departments to implement the 2020 version of the negative list for foreign investment access in accordance with the requirements of the Foreign Investment Law and its implementing regulations and give equal treatment to domestic and foreign enterprises outside the negative list while improving the construction of open economic institutions and safeguarding national security in the expansion of opening up.

Click here for details of Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2020 Version) and Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access in the Pilot Free Trade Zone (Negative List) (2020 Version)