Negative List of Foreign Investment Admitted to "Slim Down" and Play the Role of Pilot Field in Pilot Free Trade Zone

Give full play to the role of test field in the Pilot Free Trade Zone——

Negative list of foreign investment admits "slimming down"

　　Economic Daily · China Economic Net reporter Xiong Li

　　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 Dec. 33 on June 23, respectively promulgating "Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2020 Edition)" and " The Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Admission in the Free Trade Pilot Zone (Negative List) (2020 version)" will be implemented from July 23 this year. "Special management measures for foreign investment access (negative list) (2019 version)" and "Special management measures for foreign investment access (free list) (2019 version)" in the Pilot Free Trade Zone are simultaneously abolished.

　　In accordance with the principle of only reducing and not increasing, this revision further reduces the negative list of foreign investment access and improves the level of service industry, manufacturing, and agricultural opening. Among them, the national negative list was reduced from 40 to 33, the reduction rate was 17.5%, and 2 were partially opened; the negative list of the free trade pilot zone was reduced from 37 to 30, the reduction rate was 18.9%, and 1 Partially open.

　　The relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission said that since the Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee of the Party, my country has thoroughly explored the implementation of a pre-entry national treatment plus negative list management system for foreign investment to continuously improve the level of openness. The Foreign Investment Law and its implementing regulations issued in 2019 formally established a pre-entry national treatment plus negative list management system at the level of laws and regulations. The negative list of foreign investment access lists a unified list of areas where investment is prohibited or restricted. Give foreign investment national treatment. From 2017 to 2019, in the context of the continuous decline in global transnational investment, China attracted foreign capital of US$136.3 billion, US$138.3 billion, and US$141.2 billion, ranking second in the world, achieving steady growth and steady growth. quality.

　　Since the beginning of this year, the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic has had a huge impact on global transnational investment, and the world economy has been severely affected. The person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission said that the release of the 2020 version of the negative list of foreign investment access is an important measure to implement the deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, implement a wider scope, wider fields, and deeper comprehensive opening up. It is also the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law The latest supporting documents to advance the negative list management system demonstrate China’s unwavering determination to support economic globalization and cross-border investment. It will further improve the foreign investment environment and promote high-quality economic development with a higher level of openness.

　　According to reports, the main changes in this revision are:

　　One is to speed up the process of opening up key areas in the service industry. In the financial sector, the restrictions on foreign shares of securities companies, securities investment fund management companies, futures companies, and life insurance companies were lifted. In the field of infrastructure, the rule that the construction and operation of urban water supply and drainage pipeline networks with a population of 500,000 or more must be controlled by the Chinese party. In the field of transportation, the regulations prohibiting foreign investment in air traffic control were cancelled, and the regulations on civil airport entries were adjusted.

　　The second is to relax access to manufacturing and agriculture. In the manufacturing sector, the restrictions on the share ratio of foreign investment in commercial vehicle manufacturing will be lifted, and the regulations prohibiting foreign investment in the smelting, processing and nuclear fuel production of radioactive minerals will be eliminated. In the agricultural field, the selection and breeding of new wheat varieties and the production of seeds must be relaxed from Chinese holding to a share ratio of not less than 34%.

　　The third is to continue to open pilots in the Pilot Free Trade Zone. On the basis of the national opening-up measures, the Pilot Free Trade Zone continues to test first. In the field of medicine, the regulations prohibiting foreign investment in traditional Chinese medicine decoction pieces were cancelled. In the field of education, wholly foreign-owned enterprises are allowed to establish vocational education institutions of academic system.

　　"The general direction of formulating the 2020 version of the negative list of foreign investment access is to implement a wider range, a wider field, and a deeper level of comprehensive opening-up, and promote high-quality economic development with high-level opening." When talking about the main considerations of this revision, the The person in charge said that one is to expand foreign investment market access. Implement the deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, actively respond to the epidemic situation of new crown pneumonia, improve the level of opening up of manufacturing, service industries and agriculture, and promote reform and development by opening up. The second is to promote institutional opening. Implement the Foreign Investment Law and its implementation regulations, improve the rules for the negative list of foreign investment access, and fully implement the pre-entry national treatment plus negative list management system. The third is that the negative list only does subtraction, not addition. The revision of the Negative List of Foreign Investment Admissions does not add or tighten restrictions on foreign investment, and the wider the door is to open. The fourth is to give full play to the role of the Pilot Free Trade Zone in expanding the opening of test fields. We will continue to carry out stress tests for expanding opening-up in the Pilot Free Trade Zone, and take a step forward in opening up in some areas. The fifth is to maintain national security while opening wider. It is necessary to do a good job in investment management in accordance with the requirements of the Foreign Investment Law and make overall plans for openness and safety.

　　In the context of the severe impact of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic on the economies of various countries, China has coordinated the promotion of epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, insisted on advancing the resumption of production and production in the wider opening up, and uniformly applied various support policies to domestic and foreign companies to provide foreign investment To a more open investment environment, and to implement the promise of opening to the outside world with practical actions. "After the test of the epidemic, investors from various countries will have a deeper understanding that China’s pace of promoting higher levels of opening-up will not slow down, China’s policy on the use of foreign capital will not change, and China will provide better investment and business development for enterprises of various countries in China The direction of service will not change." The person in charge said.

　　According to reports, the 2020 version of the Negative List of Foreign Investment Admissions is a new version of the Negative List after the implementation of the Foreign Investment Law and its implementation regulations. In addition to further opening up, it has also been linked to the relevant provisions of laws and regulations. The above-mentioned person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission said that the National Development and Reform Commission will work with the Ministry of Commerce and other departments and localities to strictly follow the requirements of the Foreign Investment Law and its implementation regulations to effectively implement the negative list of foreign investment access and ensure new opening measures Land in time to improve the consistency of various policies. In areas other than the negative list, domestic and foreign-funded enterprises are given equal treatment, and no unit may set separate access restrictions for foreign investment.

　　Xiong Li