The move is aimed at persuading more foreign companies to expand their presence in the country, despite rising geopolitical tensions and Beijing’s relatively tough stance on both domestic and foreign private sector players, which has major global firms rethinking their approach to China.
During a speech marking the launch of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, Xi Jinping announced that remaining restrictions on foreign companies doing manufacturing in China would be lifted, Jiemian reported, citing state broadcaster CCTV.
An unnamed official with Commerce Ministry officials told the media that “the complete lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector sends a signal to the world that China’s doors [for economic cooperation] will be opened wider and wider.”
It is worth noting that many experts considered the move to be purely symbolic, given that there are virtually no restrictions left on foreign investment in China’s manufacturing sector.
Beijing authorities regularly publish a “negative list” to outline areas in which foreign companies are prohibited from investing. The most recent such list, published in 2021, contained only two restrictions on the manufacturing sector: any printed publications must be owned by the investor’s Chinese arm; and foreign firms were prohibited from investing in the processing and production of certain Chinese drugs. Xi’s announcement lifted those two remaining restrictions.