China Releases 2020 Negative Lists for Foreign Investment Access

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition) and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment in Pilot Free Trade Zones (Negative List) (2020 Edition) (Order Nos. 32 and 33) on 23 June 2020. The two negative lists will take effect on 23 July 2020 and supersede the previous lists.

Compared with the 2019 editions, the 2020 negative lists are much shorter and feature further opening up in the services, manufacturing and agriculture sectors. The negative list of foreign investment access nationwide has been reduced from 40 items to 33, and the negative list for pilot free trade zones has been reduced from 37 items to 30. The following are some of the specific measures:

1. Accelerating the opening up of key areas of the services industry. In the financial sector, foreign ownership caps are removed on securities, securities investment and fund management, futures and life insurance companies.
   
2. Easing access restrictions on manufacturing and agriculture, such as those related to commercial vehicle manufacturing and radioactive mineral smelting
   
3. Continuing the pilot programmes in the pilot free trade zones. In the pharmaceutical sector, the foreign investment ban on prepared decoction pieces of herbal medicine will be removed. In education, wholly foreign-owned institutions providing vocational education will be allowed.

Source: State Council