On March 19, 2024, the State Council issued Action Plan to Steadily Promote High-level Opening-up and More Efforts to Attract and Utilize Foreign Investment (hereinafter referred to “the Action Plan”.)The Action Plan is published under the consideration of expand opening-up level, while meeting the requirements of industrial structure adjustment, as well as close the gap on the imbalanced distribution of foreign investments in different regions of China (concentrating in eastern and coastal regions at present).
Main contents of the Action Plan include:
Expand market access: more sectors will be opened for foreign investment, some previous restriction in more sectors (such as telecommunication, banking, bond market, insurance and medical etc.) will be removed.
More supportive policies to attract foreign investors: expand the encouraging sectors for foreign investors (including but not limited in advanced manufacturing, high-tech, energy saving and environmental protection etc.); issue supportive and favorable policies, such as tax, energy support and financial support. Support will also be greatly provided for foreign investment in middle, northeastern and western regions.
Optimize fair competing environment and improve investment service: clear out all behaviours and policies that violates fair competition; optimize bidding system; implement fair participation for foreign enterprises in the standard drafting; improve market surveillance and administration enforcement level, while enhancing corporate service for foreign enterprises.
Facilitate innovative cooperation of foreign and domestic enterprises: support the data exchange of foreign enterprises with headquarters; facilitate the international logistics for foreign businessmen with convenient visa service and transport support (increase international flights); encourage and support foreign enterprises on participating on national major R&D and scientific-technological projects.
Improve business regulations and system to benchmark international high-level trade rules: improve intellectual property protection; optimize rules on cross-border data transfer; actively enhance the trial spot on international trade rule implementation.
The Action Plan will obviously provide more supportive measures for foreign investments in various perspectives, and those intends to search market opportunities in China for in integrated circuits, biomedical, high-end equipment, finance, insurance etc., especially the manufacturing sectors should benefit from this national-level measures.
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