General

The confidence of foreign-funded enterprises in the Chinese market comes not only from the potential of China's large market, but also from the increasing optimization of the business environment.

On May 10, the national development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce publicly solicited opinions on the catalogue of industries encouraging foreign investment (2022 Edition) (Draft for comments). Compared with the current 2020 edition, 238 entries have been added, 114 have been modified and 38 have been deleted, reflecting the basic principle of "increasing the total amount and optimizing the structure" of promoting the utilization of foreign capital. Among them, the national catalogue of industries that encourage foreign investment was increased by 50 articles, amended by 62 articles and deleted by 14 articles; The catalogue of advantageous industries for foreign investment in the central and western regions was increased by 188, amended by 52 and deleted by 24. The relevant person in charge of the national development and Reform Commission said that the new version shows China's determination and attitude to promote high-level opening-up, which is conducive to further stabilizing foreign investment expectations and confidence.

The revised provisions mainly expand the coverage of the original items, including continuing to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing and producer services, and adding or expanding items such as components, parts, equipment manufacturing, professional design, technical services and development in the national catalogue; The central and Western catalogue has added or expanded relevant items according to the advantages of local labor force, characteristic resources and the needs of attracting investment.

Accelerating the construction of the rule of law in the field of foreign investment in China is an important part of optimizing the business environment. Since the promulgation of the foreign investment law, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of justice, has organized all regions and departments to carry out in-depth "legislation, reform and abolition" of laws, regulations and normative documents inconsistent with the foreign investment law, and achieved positive results. According to the information released on the website of the Ministry of Commerce recently, over the past two years, China has successively issued six administrative regulations and departmental rules, including the regulations on the implementation of the foreign investment law and the measures for the reporting of foreign investment information, and abolished 33 administrative regulations and departmental rules, including the measures for the administration of foreign enterprises or individuals establishing partnerships in China and the provisions on the administration of foreign invested construction enterprises, 47 administrative regulations and departmental rules, including the provisions on the administration of Foreign-invested Telecommunications Enterprises and the Interim Provisions on the administration of the establishment of Sino foreign joint venture and Sino foreign cooperative employment agencies, were revised. While simplifying foreign investment procedures and examination and approval processes, it has also broadened the field of foreign investment and stimulated the enthusiasm and initiative of foreign investors.

Recently, in view of the problems of blocked logistics transportation and unstable expectation of some foreign-funded enterprises, the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council issued the notice on effectively doing a good job in ensuring the smooth transportation of freight logistics. The relevant departments and local governments across the country took timely measures to help foreign-funded enterprises overcome the impact of the epidemic, resume work and production, and support the orderly construction and operation of foreign-funded projects. The Ministry of Commerce said that in the next step, it will further give full play to the role of special classes for key foreign-funded projects, sort out the specific demands of foreign-funded enterprises such as the convenience of doing business in China one by one, implement policies by categories, ensure smooth flow and supply, stabilize production and operation, and promote the resumption of work and production.