China to lift foreign investment access restrictions in manufacturing sector

Restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will be lifted with the release of the 2024 version of the negative list for foreign investment access, China's top economic planner announced on Sunday.

Jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), the updated negative list, effective November 1, reduces the number of restrictions from 31 to 29, achieving zero restrictions in the manufacturing sector.

"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," said Meng Huating, deputy head of foreign investment department at the MOC.

An expert at the MOC said China will 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," said Zhang Wei, vice president of the Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the MOC.

China released and implemented its first negative list for foreign investment access in 2013. The list has undergone several revisions and streamlining over the past decade. Currently, the national version has been cut down to 29 items in the non-manufacturing sector from the original 93 items.

Foreign capital utilized in China's high-tech fields has reached 37.4 percent of the total foreign capital utilized in China, an increase of 10 percent from 2017 to 2023, according to Zhang.

The NDRC will collaborate with the MOC and other departments and regions to set up a system to implement a negative list, as well as a negative list for foreign investment, ensuring the timely rollout of the new measures.