China to ease rules for foreign strategic investment in listed firms

BEIJING -- The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) is seeking to improve foreign investment rules by further easing restrictions on foreign investors' strategic investment in listed firms.

The MOC said in a statement on Tuesday that in order to further relax the restrictions on strategic investment by foreign investors in listed companies and innovate regulatory methods, it will revise the administrative measures accordingly.

This forms part of the ministry's 2024 plan to refine a raft of administrative rules and measures. These include establishing administrative measures for the circulation of refined oil, revising administrative measures for the operation of catering businesses, and establishing administrative measures aimed at promoting the high-quality development of China's foreign contracted projects, the MOC said.

According to the 2024 government work report, China seeks to strengthen services for foreign investors and make it a favored destination for foreign investment.

The country will also expand the Catalog of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment and encourage foreign-funded enterprises in China to reinvest in the country, pledging national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises, according to the government work report.

MOC data showed that in the first quarter of this year, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China hit 12,000, up 20.7 percent year on year. During the same period, foreign direct investment remained at a high level, at 301.67 billion yuan (42.39 billion U.S. dollars).