Foreign investors in China to see fewer barriers to entry in 2017, says Ministry

BEIJING - China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced the draft of a foreign investment law that would lower the entry barrier for foreign investors and grant them easier access to the Chinese market. Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said the Ministry wants to put inflows of FDI on a firmer footing in China to improve the domestic business environment, adjust the industrial and regional development structure and gain high-end technologies.

“As China’s economy is undergoing a structural adjustment and industrial boom,” Shen said, “the Ministry this year will encourage more foreign companies to invest in China’s  environmental protection and modern services sector to assist development of supply-side reform.”

Shen said the Ministry plans to submit the draft to the National People’s Congress by the end of this year.

Foreign direct investment in China rose in 2015 by 6.4% on-year to US$126.27 billion, according to Ministry data. Foreign investment in the service industry rose by 17.3%, accounting for 61.1% of the flow. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).