On June 23, 2020, NDRC and MOFCOM jointly issued the new Negative List for Foreign Investments (the “Nationwide Negative List”) and the new Negative List for Foreign Investments in the Pilot Free Trade Zones (the “FTZ Negative List”), both effective on the same day.
The FTZ Negative List has 30 items as compared to the Nationwide Negative List, which contains 33 items.
On December 31, 2020, the NDRC and MOFCOM published the Negative List for Foreign Investments in Hainan Free Trade Port (the “HFTP Negative List”), which consists of merely 27 items restricting foreign investments in relevant sectors.
Below is a summary of the key differences.
What this means is that foreign investors in the mining, automotive, telecom, education and social research services industries will be able to conduct and set up businesses that are not permitted anywhere else in China.
Except for specific regulations related to the mining industry, foreign investors will generally be able to register and obtain their business licenses in Hainan in these industries and further expand into other locations in China.
