Support foreign investment to participate widely in "Made in China 2025".

The "Foreign Investment Industry Guidance Catalogue (2017 Revision)" expands the scope of encouraged policies -

Support foreign investment to widely participate in "Made in China 2025"

Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Sun Jiwen stated on the 29th that the recently released "Foreign Investment Industry Guidance Catalogue (2017 Revision)" is another important reform for China to actively open its doors to the world and improve its investment environment. The new "Catalogue" will better support foreign-invested enterprises in playing an important role in the development of the real economy.

According to reports, the 2017 version of the "Catalogue" reflects three characteristics: First, it further narrows the scope of approval for the establishment and change of foreign-invested enterprises. Except for "domestic companies, enterprises, or individuals acquiring domestic companies with which they have a relevant relationship through companies legally established or controlled abroad," foreign mergers and acquisitions that do not involve special management measures for market access will be included in the record management, including the introduction of foreign investors for strategic investment in listed companies. The Ministry of Commerce will also establish supporting measures and timely revise and issue the "Record Management Measures for the Establishment and Change of Foreign-invested Enterprises" to clarify the record procedures for mergers and acquisitions. This will significantly simplify the procedures for foreign mergers and acquisitions and effectively reduce institutional transaction costs.

Second, it further relaxes the restrictions on foreign investment access in the service, manufacturing, and mining industries, with only 63 restrictive measures remaining, a reduction of 30 measures compared to the 93 restrictive measures in the 2015 version of the "Catalogue."

Third, it further expands the scope of encouraged policies. The "Catalogue" has a total of 348 encouraged items, with 6 new items added and 35 items modified compared to the 2015 version. New projects include the research and development and manufacturing of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) devices, key components for 3D printing equipment, and urban parking facility construction. The newly added and modified encouraged items will better promote the combination of attracting investment, technology, and intelligence, continue to encourage foreign investment in areas that align with China's industrial transformation and upgrading direction, and support foreign investment to widely participate in the "Made in China 2025" strategy and the innovation-driven development strategy. (Reporter Feng Qiyu)