China has published its first nationwide negative list for foreign investment, in the latest move by Beijing to woo overseas investors back after years of rising labor and land costs helped drive capital elsewhere.
A "Negative List on Foreign Investment Access" is included in the 2017 version of the Foreign Investment Industrial Guidance Catalogue - one of the fundamental rules regulating the sector in China - that will take effect on July 28, according to a document released by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planning agency.
The list, also called "Special Administrative Measures," names 35 industries under a restricted category, including the raising new crop varieties, the production of seeds and the refining and separation of rare earth minerals. In addition, it tallied another 28 sectors under the prohibited category, such as air traffic control, film production and distribution, and internet news information services.
The introduction of the negative list has been viewed as a move to ease market access for foreign investors because projects that do not fall within the list only need to be registered with the government and no longer require official approval.
So far, China has only introduced negative lists on foreign investment in the country's 11 free trade zones in areas such as Shanghai.
The move to adopt a negative list comes at a time when foreign investment in China has slowed in recent years, as rapidly rising labor and land costs in the country have forced investors to move their manufacturing to cheaper locations in Southeast Asia, while developed economies including the U.S. have been encouraging their companies to return to create jobs.
China has published its first nationwide negative list for foreign investment, in the latest move by Beijing to woo overseas investors back after years of rising labor and land costs helped drive capital elsewhere.
The list, also called "Special Administrative Measures," names 35 industries under a restricted category, including the raising new crop varieties, the production of seeds and the refining and separation of rare earth minerals. In addition, it tallied another 28 sectors under the prohibited category, such as air traffic control, film production and distribution, and internet news information services.
