NDRC: Actively guide foreign investors to increase their investment in areas such as integrated circuit equipment and key raw materials.

According to a report on April 20, the State Council Information Office recently held a regular policy briefing. Yang Jie, Director of the Department of Regulations at the National Development and Reform Commission, stated in response to reporters' questions that the NDRC will further implement the "Opinions on Further Carrying Out 'Delegation, Regulation, and Service' Reform to Support the 'Six Stabilities' and 'Six Guarantees'," strengthen the promotion and protection of foreign investment, and continuously optimize the business environment for foreign investors. The focus will be on five key areas of work:

First, we will further shorten the negative list for foreign investment access. From 2017 to 2020, we revised the negative list for foreign investment access for four consecutive years, reducing restrictive measures by nearly two-thirds. We have introduced a series of major opening-up initiatives in the financial and automotive sectors, and manufacturing has largely been liberalized, with only four remaining restrictions. By further shortening the negative list, we will focus on promoting the orderly opening-up of the service sector, further easing market access restrictions in manufacturing and other sectors, and more broadly introducing advanced technologies, management expertise, and business models. At the same time, we will better leverage the role of pilot free trade zones as “testbeds” for expanding opening-up and continue to be pioneers and experimenters.

Second, we will intensify efforts to encourage foreign investment. The new edition of the Catalog of Industries Encouraged for Foreign Investment has been officially implemented since January of this year, further expanding the scope of industries encouraged for foreign investment and adding a total of 127 new sectors to the list. We will promote the refinement of relevant supporting policies and actively guide foreign investors to increase their investments in manufacturing sectors such as integrated circuit equipment, key raw materials, and components. Better leverage the role of foreign investment in maintaining the stability of industrial and supply chains, particularly in productive service sectors such as R&D and design, modern logistics, and information services, as well as in central and western regions.

Third, we will promote the implementation of major foreign-invested projects. As directed by the State Council, since 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments and local authorities, has established special task forces for major foreign-invested projects to coordinate and address issues encountered during project implementation. To date, four batches of major foreign-invested projects have been launched. This year, we will continue to prioritize advanced manufacturing and high-tech sectors as key areas for supporting major foreign-invested projects, encouraging foreign investment to contribute to China’s high-quality manufacturing development, the construction of new infrastructure, and innovation-driven growth. At the same time, we will further leverage the exemplary role of these major national foreign-invested projects, help localities refine their mechanisms, foster coordinated efforts between different levels of government, and provide end-to-end services throughout the entire process.

Fourth, we will fully extend national treatment to foreign-invested enterprises after they have gained market access. Since last year, in line with the Party Central Committee and the State Council’s “Six Stabilizations” and “Six Guarantees” initiatives, a series of supportive policies—including tax, financial, and social security measures—have been introduced at the national level to help businesses overcome difficulties. These policies apply equally to both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises. We will continue to promote, in accordance with the law, equal treatment for foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises in areas such as tendering and procurement, land supply, tax and fee reductions, qualification licensing, standard-setting, project applications, and human resource policies. At the same time, we will proactively carry out policy publicity and interpretation efforts to ensure that various business-benefiting policies are easily understood, swiftly implemented, and fully utilized by eligible enterprises.
Fifth, we will vigorously enhance our regulatory capacity and standards. Promoting greater openness requires improved regulation to effectively prevent risks. We will continue to refine systems such as pre-entry national treatment plus a negative list management approach and foreign investment security reviews, and push for the establishment of a fair, transparent, efficient, and secure regulatory framework that is aligned with high-level opening-up and compatible with internationally accepted norms. At the same time, we will deepen the integration of “Internet Plus” government services, leveraging information technology to boost smart regulation and intelligent service capabilities, and accelerate the modernization of our regulatory capacity.