China officially announced a negative list for market access (2018 version) on December 25. The institutional innovation is expected to further lower market access for both domestic and overseas investors.

An official from China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), received an exclusive interview with People’s Daily, explaining the importance and the major adjustment of the new-version list.

(File Photo: VCG)

Entry permission for industries, fields and businesses off the list

Negative list is a common practice for the management of foreign investment, and the negative list for market access involving all market entities marks a major institutional innovation for China, the official noted.

The comprehensive implementation of the list aims to promote in-depth transformation of government functions, enabling the market to have decisive role in resource allocation, the official said.

It is a revolution for the government to rebuild government-market relations, and a key move to guarantee the country’s stable economic progress.

Compared with positive list, the negative list is a market access management that is more open, inclusive and transparent, the official added, explaining that the negative list will revitalize market entities, strengthen government supervision, and facilitate relevant reforms.

A shorter list than its pilot version

Currently the negative list involves two major categories, consisting of 147 items with permitted access and 4 items with prohibited access, as well as 581 specific management measures. The number of items is down by 177 and specific measures by 288 compared with the pilot version.

The 147 items with permitted access include 128 provisions covering 18 industries in 20 categories of the national economy, the official said.

The newly-announced negative list was developed based on the pilot version, and still carries the framework and major content of the latter, so as to guarantee the stability and consistency of the previous list, the official explained.

Management measures for different industries, fields, and regions incorporated in the negative list

The gaps of regional development are a bothering issue for China, as well as the differences in resource endowment and strategic positioning among different regions, the official introduced.

To better cope with this situation, the negative list allows provincial governments to make suggestions according to their own factors, such as resources, strategic positioning, comparative advantages, and ecological environment, and these suggestions will be implemented after the approval of the State Council.

In addition, to incorporate industrial and investment policies, as well as other market access measures in the negative list is conducive to the coordination and planning of various policies, and will make the negative list easier to use, the official added.

(Compiled by Sun Wenyu)