The Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the State Administration for Market Regulation have introduced details of the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan). The plan outlines a series of policy measures, including expanding pilot programs for opening up, optimizing the business environment, and revising and expanding the encouraged industries catalog for foreign investment, forming a “1+N” policy framework to stabilise foreign investment.Specifically, multiple government departments aim to reduce restrictions on foreign investment while enhancing the business environment.
In terms of reducing restrictions, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) previously released the 2024 Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access, which fully lifted restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector. Hua Zhong, Director of the Department of Foreign Capital Utilisation and Overseas Investment at the NDRC, stated that the revision of the foreign investment negative list, including those for free trade zones and Hainan Free Trade Port, will be considered in due course in collaboration with relevant authorities. Zhu Bing, Director-General of the Foreign Investment Administration at the Ministry of Commerce, also announced that a new version of the Market Access Negative List will be introduced this year, further reducing restricted areas. This list applies to all market participants, allowing foreign enterprises to access more investment opportunities on equal terms.
Regarding enhancing the business environment, Zhou Weijun, Director-General of the Credit Supervision and Management Department at the State Administration for Market Regulation, emphasised ongoing efforts to facilitate foreign investment. Measures include further improving a fair and just market environment, strengthening supervision over foreign-invested enterprises, and enhancing intellectual property protection for foreign businesses. These efforts aim to stabilize foreign investors’ expectations, boost their confidence, and create a more secure operational environment.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce, China’s actual use of foreign capital in January 2025 reached RMB 97.59 billion, marking a month-on-month increase of 27.5%. During the same period, actual investments in China from the UK, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Japan grew by 324.4%, 104.3%, 76.1%, and 40.7%, respectively.
Source: Economic Information Daily