China in process of revising negative lists for foreign investors

China is working to revise the negative lists for foreign investment as the country fulfills its promise to open wider.

The country is working on the revision of two negative lists for foreign investors, namely, a national negative list and a negative list for foreign investors in the Free Trade Zones (FTZs), Tang Wenhong, head of the department of foreign investment of Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference Thursday.

[File photo: IC]

"The revision is underway in an orderly manner. It will deliver results in the foreseeable future," Tang said.

China started to pilot a negative list approach in the Shanghai FTZ in 2013. All sectors are open to foreign investors except for those outlined in the negative list.

The new negative list on foreign investment nationwide will impose a much smaller number of restrictions and unveil opening-up measures in fields including finance, automobiles, energy, resources, infrastructure, transportation, commercial circulation, and professional services, said Yan Pengcheng, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), at a press conference in April.