China-Foreign Investment Law

China's national legislature to vote on draft Foreign Investment Law

  • English

Shotlist


Beijing, China - March 5, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of building of Great Hall of the People
2. National emblem of China

Beijing, China - March 9, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Ruihe, director, Office of Economic Law, Commission of Legislative Affairs, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC):
"The draft law defines the basic norms on the opening up of our country, the protection of the legitimate interests of foreign investors, the attraction of foreign investments, the promotion of foreign investments, and the protection of foreign investments. It is of great significance to continuing to expand the opening up and establishing a business environment featuring institutionalization, internationalization and facilitation. At the same time, we also show to the people of the world our determination and courage to reform and open up. As this law is very important, we have submitted it to the National People's Congress for deliberations."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Oct 8, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of flags

FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of port

Beijing, China - March 9, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Ruihe, director, Office of Economic Law, Commission of Legislative Affairs, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC):
"In the past, if a foreign investor wanted to set up a business in China, he had to obtain the approval from the authorities in charge of foreign investments. In other words, if you wanted to set up a business, no matter what you would do and which sector you would be in, you must first be approved as a market player. Now, if you are investing outside the limit of the negative list, you will not need this market player approval. You are treated the same as domestic investors. All you need to do is to register with the General Administration of Market Supervision as a market player and file some foreign investment-related information. This is a great difference in the mode of administration."

FILE: Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Qianhai-Shekou Area of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), traffic
8. Aerial shot of Qianhai-Shekou Area of China (Guangdong) Pilot FTZ

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of FTZ

FILE: Tianjin Municipality, north China - Oct 2018 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of Airbus assembly plant

FILE: Zhangye City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of workers assembling mobile phones

Beijing, China - March 2-3, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Kong Qingjiang, dean, School of International Law, China University of Political Science and Law (starting with shot 11/ending with shot 13):
"In fact, the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list has completely gone beyond the existing three laws on foreign investments that featured case-by-case approval. This new mode of administration has been very effective in practice and now we should institutionalize this reform result in the form of law."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Jan 7, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Tesla banner, banner reading "Shanghai Lingang"
14. Aerial shot of construction site for Tesla's new factory
15. Telsa banner

FILE: Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Gate to BMW-Brilliance (BBA) plant
17. BMW car bumper
18. BMW-Brilliance worker assembling bumper

Beijing, China - March 9, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
19. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Ruihe, director, Office of Economic Laws, Commission of Legislative Affairs, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) (ending with shot 20):
"After a series of reform experiments, we are now enacting the Foreign Investment Law to institutionalize the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list in the form of law. Now it seems that our reform process is consistent, our path is clear, and our resolve to reform is firm. Of course, this process is also very safe and very prudent. This reform result is also a natural and logical one."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
20. Various of skyscrapers, the Bund

Storyline


The second session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) held a plenary meeting Thursday to deliberate the draft resolutions and the recommendations on the draft Foreign Investment Law. As an important agenda of this year's "two sessions," the draft Foreign Investment Law is due to be voted on Friday.

The two sessions refers to the annual gathering of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and that of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

At this year's two sessions, the draft was reviewed and deliberated at several plenary meetings, and is due to be voted at the fourth plenary meeting on March 15. Once adopted, the unified Foreign Investment Law will replace three existing laws -- the law on Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, the law on non-equity joint ventures (or contractual joint ventures) and the law on wholly foreign-owned enterprises.

Wang Ruihe, director of the Office of Economic Laws of the Commission of Legislative Affairs at the Standing Committee of the NPC, stressed the importance of the draft.

"The draft law defines the basic norms on the opening up of our country, the protection of the legitimate interests of foreign investors, the attraction of foreign investments, the promotion of foreign investments, and the protection of foreign investments. It is of great significance to continuing to expand the opening up and establishing a business environment featuring institutionalization, internationalization and facilitation. At the same time, we also show to the people of the world our determination and courage to reform and open up. As this law is very important, we have submitted it to the National People's Congress for deliberations," he said.

Compared with the three existing laws, the draft Foreign Investment Law has a fundamental change in the administration of foreign investments. It has introduced an administrative system featuring pre-entry national treatment plus negative list for foreign investments and eliminated the case-by-case approval model.

"In the past, if a foreign investor wanted to set up a business in China, he had to obtain the approval from the authorities in charge of foreign investments. In other words, if you wanted to set up a business, no matter what you would do and which sector you would be in, you must first be approved as a market player. Now, if you are investing outside the limit of the negative list, you will not need this market player approval. You are treated the same as domestic investors. All you need to do is to register with the General Administration of Market Supervision as a market player and file some foreign investment-related information. This is a great difference in the mode of administration," said Wang.

The pre-entry national treatment plus negative list was first introduced by the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Now, the negative list for free-trade zones has reduced the number of restrictive measures from the earliest 190 to 45, and is applied in 12 pilot free-trade zones covering a total area of 35,000 square kilometers.

The negative list has been implemented nationwide for the first time since 2017. In the 2018 edition, the restrictive measures were reduced to 48 from 63 in the previous year. The first, second and third industries have comprehensively relaxed control over market access, with 22 open measures cover various fields including finance, transportation, manufacturing and infrastructure.

"In fact, the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list has completely gone beyond the existing three laws on foreign investments that featured case-by-case approval. This new mode of administration has been very effective in practice and now we should institutionalize this reform result in the form of law," said Kong Qingjiang, dean of the School of International Law at China University of Political Science and Law.

The draft clearly states that the sectors banned and restricted to foreign investors will be clearly specified in the negative list. The sectors beyond the limits of the list will be fully opened, and Chinese and foreign investors will be entitled to same treatment.

"After a series of reform experiments, we are now enacting the Foreign Investment Law to institutionalize the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list in the form of law. Now it seems that our reform process is consistent, our path is clear, and our resolve to reform is firm. Of course, this process is also very safe and very prudent. This reform result is also a natural and logical one," said Wang.

DOWNLOAD
  • ID : 8105670
  • Dateline : March 2/3/5/9, 2019/File
  • Location : Beijing,China
  • Category : economy, business and finance,politics
  • Duration : 3'50
  • Audio Language : Chinese/Nats/Part Mute
  • Source : China Central Television (CCTV),China Global Television Network (CGTN)
  • Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
  • Published : 2019-03-14 19:31
  • Last Modified : 2019-03-14 19:38:00
  • Version : 4

China-Foreign Investment Law

China's national legislature to vote on draft Foreign Investment Law

Dateline : March 2/3/5/9, 2019/File

Location : Beijing,China

Duration : 3'50

  • English


Beijing, China - March 5, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of building of Great Hall of the People
2. National emblem of China

Beijing, China - March 9, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Ruihe, director, Office of Economic Law, Commission of Legislative Affairs, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC):
"The draft law defines the basic norms on the opening up of our country, the protection of the legitimate interests of foreign investors, the attraction of foreign investments, the promotion of foreign investments, and the protection of foreign investments. It is of great significance to continuing to expand the opening up and establishing a business environment featuring institutionalization, internationalization and facilitation. At the same time, we also show to the people of the world our determination and courage to reform and open up. As this law is very important, we have submitted it to the National People's Congress for deliberations."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Oct 8, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of flags

FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of port

Beijing, China - March 9, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Ruihe, director, Office of Economic Law, Commission of Legislative Affairs, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC):
"In the past, if a foreign investor wanted to set up a business in China, he had to obtain the approval from the authorities in charge of foreign investments. In other words, if you wanted to set up a business, no matter what you would do and which sector you would be in, you must first be approved as a market player. Now, if you are investing outside the limit of the negative list, you will not need this market player approval. You are treated the same as domestic investors. All you need to do is to register with the General Administration of Market Supervision as a market player and file some foreign investment-related information. This is a great difference in the mode of administration."

FILE: Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Qianhai-Shekou Area of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), traffic
8. Aerial shot of Qianhai-Shekou Area of China (Guangdong) Pilot FTZ

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of FTZ

FILE: Tianjin Municipality, north China - Oct 2018 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of Airbus assembly plant

FILE: Zhangye City, Gansu Province, northwest China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of workers assembling mobile phones

Beijing, China - March 2-3, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Kong Qingjiang, dean, School of International Law, China University of Political Science and Law (starting with shot 11/ending with shot 13):
"In fact, the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list has completely gone beyond the existing three laws on foreign investments that featured case-by-case approval. This new mode of administration has been very effective in practice and now we should institutionalize this reform result in the form of law."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Jan 7, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Tesla banner, banner reading "Shanghai Lingang"
14. Aerial shot of construction site for Tesla's new factory
15. Telsa banner

FILE: Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, northeast China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Gate to BMW-Brilliance (BBA) plant
17. BMW car bumper
18. BMW-Brilliance worker assembling bumper

Beijing, China - March 9, 2019 (CCTV-No access Chinese mainland)
19. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Ruihe, director, Office of Economic Laws, Commission of Legislative Affairs, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) (ending with shot 20):
"After a series of reform experiments, we are now enacting the Foreign Investment Law to institutionalize the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list in the form of law. Now it seems that our reform process is consistent, our path is clear, and our resolve to reform is firm. Of course, this process is also very safe and very prudent. This reform result is also a natural and logical one."

FILE: Shanghai Municipality, east China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
20. Various of skyscrapers, the Bund


The second session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) held a plenary meeting Thursday to deliberate the draft resolutions and the recommendations on the draft Foreign Investment Law. As an important agenda of this year's "two sessions," the draft Foreign Investment Law is due to be voted on Friday.

The two sessions refers to the annual gathering of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and that of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

At this year's two sessions, the draft was reviewed and deliberated at several plenary meetings, and is due to be voted at the fourth plenary meeting on March 15. Once adopted, the unified Foreign Investment Law will replace three existing laws -- the law on Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, the law on non-equity joint ventures (or contractual joint ventures) and the law on wholly foreign-owned enterprises.

Wang Ruihe, director of the Office of Economic Laws of the Commission of Legislative Affairs at the Standing Committee of the NPC, stressed the importance of the draft.

"The draft law defines the basic norms on the opening up of our country, the protection of the legitimate interests of foreign investors, the attraction of foreign investments, the promotion of foreign investments, and the protection of foreign investments. It is of great significance to continuing to expand the opening up and establishing a business environment featuring institutionalization, internationalization and facilitation. At the same time, we also show to the people of the world our determination and courage to reform and open up. As this law is very important, we have submitted it to the National People's Congress for deliberations," he said.

Compared with the three existing laws, the draft Foreign Investment Law has a fundamental change in the administration of foreign investments. It has introduced an administrative system featuring pre-entry national treatment plus negative list for foreign investments and eliminated the case-by-case approval model.

"In the past, if a foreign investor wanted to set up a business in China, he had to obtain the approval from the authorities in charge of foreign investments. In other words, if you wanted to set up a business, no matter what you would do and which sector you would be in, you must first be approved as a market player. Now, if you are investing outside the limit of the negative list, you will not need this market player approval. You are treated the same as domestic investors. All you need to do is to register with the General Administration of Market Supervision as a market player and file some foreign investment-related information. This is a great difference in the mode of administration," said Wang.

The pre-entry national treatment plus negative list was first introduced by the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Now, the negative list for free-trade zones has reduced the number of restrictive measures from the earliest 190 to 45, and is applied in 12 pilot free-trade zones covering a total area of 35,000 square kilometers.

The negative list has been implemented nationwide for the first time since 2017. In the 2018 edition, the restrictive measures were reduced to 48 from 63 in the previous year. The first, second and third industries have comprehensively relaxed control over market access, with 22 open measures cover various fields including finance, transportation, manufacturing and infrastructure.

"In fact, the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list has completely gone beyond the existing three laws on foreign investments that featured case-by-case approval. This new mode of administration has been very effective in practice and now we should institutionalize this reform result in the form of law," said Kong Qingjiang, dean of the School of International Law at China University of Political Science and Law.

The draft clearly states that the sectors banned and restricted to foreign investors will be clearly specified in the negative list. The sectors beyond the limits of the list will be fully opened, and Chinese and foreign investors will be entitled to same treatment.

"After a series of reform experiments, we are now enacting the Foreign Investment Law to institutionalize the system of pre-entry national treatment plus negative list in the form of law. Now it seems that our reform process is consistent, our path is clear, and our resolve to reform is firm. Of course, this process is also very safe and very prudent. This reform result is also a natural and logical one," said Wang.

ID : 8105670

Published : 2019-03-14 19:31

Last Modified : 2019-03-14 19:38:00

Source : China Central Television (CCTV),China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland

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