China set to release new negative list for foreign investment

BEIJING - China has completed the revision of new negative list for market access of foreign investment and will make it public soon, China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.

Restrictions on energy, resources, infrastructure, transportation, commerce circulation, and professional services will be removed or loosened in the upcoming list, according to the report.

The country has already announced measures to further liberalize the finance and automobile sectors.

The new negative list will have two sections, one for nationwide implementation and one for pilot free trade zones, it reported.

Besides opening-up measures in 2018, the new negative list will unveil further measures for the next few years and there will be a transitional period for some industries.

The State Council decided at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on May 31 that the negative list on the market access of foreign investors will be revised and released before July 1.

China has rolled out an array of measures to significantly broaden market access since the beginning of 2018, a year that marks the 40th anniversary of the country's reform and opening-up policy.

Foreign investment in China hit a new high of 877.56 billion yuan ($136.72 billion) in 2017, up by 7.9 percent year-on-year.