(ECNS) -- The latest 2024 negative list for foreign investment access reduced the number of restrictions from 31 to 29, with the manufacturing sector achieving zero.
The last two remaining restrictions in manufacturing have been removed: one requiring that the publication printing sector be controlled by Chinese entities, and the other prohibiting investment in the application of processing technologies for Chinese herbal medicines as well as the production of confidential Chinese patent medicine prescriptions, according to the negative list, effective Nov. 1, jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce.
Zero restrictions signify that China's manufacturing sector is now fully open to foreign investment, ensuring equal treatment for both Chinese and foreign capital in terms of market access.
As the world's largest manufacture, the added value of China's manufacturing industry accounts for around 30 percent of the global total, ranking first in the world for 14 consecutive years.
Lifting all restrictions on foreign investment access in manufacturing signals further openness, said Yuan Qian, associate researcher at China’s Institute for International Economic Research affiliated to the NDRC, in an interview with China News Network.
Yuan pointed out that this would help China take advantage of its unified national market, deepen its participation in global industrial cooperation, encouraging more foreign investment in its advanced manufacturing and high-tech sectors while speeding up the development of new quality productive forces.
On the day of the release, China also plans to allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing and Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, Fuzhou in Fujian Province, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province and throughout the island of Hainan, according to an official document jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Health Commission, and the National Medical Products Administration.
As global trade and investment protectionism rise, marked by barriers and decoupling, China is opening its doors wider, showing a strong commitment to expanding international cooperation and advancing high-level openness through concrete actions.
This sends a clear message to global investors that China welcomes and encourages foreign investment and is ready to share development opportunities with global partners.
Yuan believes that by steadily opening up its service sector and improving its business environment with more market-driven, law-based, and international standards, China is boosting foreign investor confidence in its market.
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