On June 28, Chinese officials announced the loosening of restrictions on foreign investments in a variety of industries in the country’s 12 free trade zones, ranging from agriculture to banking. China’s Commerce Minister Zhong Shan stated that China “will continue to defend the global multilateral trading system” and that this move was part of a greater plan to continue opening up its market to the world. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planning organization for the country, published the latest version of the Special Administrative Measures on Access to Foreign Investment 2018, also known as the “negative list,” a document that enumerates which industries foreign firms are prohibited from investing in. The number of sectors on the list is now just 48, a noticeable drop from 2017’s 63, and 2011’s 120. For the sectors not listed in the publication, foreign firms (on paper) are given equal treatment to domestic companies although recent surveys by the American Chamber of Commerce indicate a different picture. Many experts argue the changes are mostly superficial but the reduced list does provide opportunities for foreign investors to take advantage of.
