十三届全国人大二次会议8日下午在北京人民大会堂举行第二次全体会议，听取全国人大常委会副委员长王晨关于中华人民共和国外商投资法草案的说明。之后，各代表团分别对该草案进行审议。 

The foreign investment law, once adopted, will become a new and fundamental law for China's foreign investment, says the explanation delivered by Wang Chen, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, to deputies attending an NPC plenary session.
全国人大常委会副委员长王晨在关于中华人民共和国外商投资法草案的说明指出，外商投资法通过后，将成为我国外商投资领域新的基础性法律。

关于外商投资的界定，草案做了如下界定，

外商投资（foreign investment）即外国的自然人、企业或者其他组织直接或者间接在中国境内进行的投资活动（investment activities directly or indirectly conducted by foreign natural persons, enterprises and other organizations），包括以下四类具体情形：

一是外国投资者单独或者与其他投资者共同在中国境内设立外商投资企业（a foreign investor establishes a foreign-funded enterprise independently or together with any other investor）；

二是外国投资者取得中国境内企业的股份、股权、财产份额或者其他类似权益（a foreign investor acquires shares, equities, property shares or any other similar rights and interests of an enterprise within the territory of China）；

三是外国投资者单独或者与其他投资者共同在中国境内投资新建项目（a foreign investor invests in any new construction project independently or together with any other investor）；

四是法律、行政法规或者国务院规定的其他方式的投资（investments stipulated in laws, administrative regulations, or defined by the State Council）。

草案指出，

The foreign investment law is a comprehensive and fundamental set of legal standards for foreign investment activities in China under new circumstances, and shall play a leading role as an overarching law in this field.
外商投资法是新形势下国家关于外商投资活动全面的、基本的法律规范，是外商投资领域起龙头作用、具有统领性质的法律。

It is a full testament to China's determination and confidence in opening wider to the outside world and promoting foreign investment in the new era.
制定外商投资法，就是要在新的历史条件下通过国家立法表明将改革开放进行到底的决心和意志，展现新时代中国积极的对外开放姿态。

草案分为6章，包括总则、投资促进、投资保护、投资管理、法律责任、附则，共41条，对新的外商投资法律制度作出了基本的、明确的规定。

以下是部分要点摘录：

The state shall guarantee that foreign-invested enterprises are able to participate in standard-setting work on an equal footing in accordance with law, and mandatory state standards shall apply equally to them, according to the document.
国家保障外商投资企业依法平等参与标准制定工作，国家制定的强制性标准平等适用于外商投资企业。

The state shall guarantee that foreign-invested enterprises can take part in government procurement activities through fair competition in accordance with law, and government procurement shall afford, in accordance with law, equal treatment to products of foreign-invested enterprises produced in China, it says.
国家保障外商投资企业依法通过公平竞争参与政府采购活动。政府采购依法对外商投资企业在中国境内生产的产品平等对待。

The conditions for technological cooperation in an investment project shall be negotiated in a fair and equal manner and agreed upon by all parties to the investment, and government bodies and their employees shall be prohibited from using administrative measures to force technology transfer.
外商投资过程中技术合作的条件由投资各方遵循公平原则平等协商确定，行政机关及其工作人员不得利用行政手段强制转让技术。

Sectors not on the entry negative list for foreign investment will be managed in accordance with the principle of equal treatment for domestic and foreign capital.
外商投资准入负面清单以外的领域，按照内外资一致的原则实施管理。

Competent authorities shall review foreign investors' license applications with the same conditions and procedures as those for domestic investors, unless otherwise stipulated in other laws or administrative regulations, according to the document. 
有关主管部门应当按照与内资一致的条件和程序，审核外国投资者的许可申请，法律、行政法规另有规定的除外。

The draft also makes it clear that the state shall manage foreign investment according to the system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list.
国家对外商投资实行准入前国民待遇加负面清单管理制度。

【名词解释】

准入前国民待遇（pre-establishment national treatment），是指在投资准入阶段给予外国投资者及其投资不低于本国投资者及其投资的待遇。

负面清单（negative list），是指国家规定在特定领域对外商投资实施的准入特别管理措施。 

外商投资法草案审议通过并正式实施之后，《中华人民共和国中外合资经营企业法》、《中华人民共和国外资企业法》、《中华人民共和国中外合作经营企业法》将同时废止。

【相关词汇】

外商投资 foreign investment

外商直接投资 foreign direct investment (FDI)

境外投资 outbound investment

中外合作经营企业 Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture

中外合资经营企业 Chinese-foreign equity joint venture

外商独资企业 wholly foreign-owned enterprise

投资环境 investment environment

营商环境 business environment