Biomedical gene diagnostics and laboratory instruments are showcased at the 11th Munich Shanghai Analytical Biochemistry Exhibition held in the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai in July 2023. (PHOTO: VCG)

By CHEN Chunyou & LIU Yuanyuan

The General Office of the State Council recently issued an action plan for advancing high-level opening-up and making greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment.

The action plan has pragmatic measures to attract foreign investment by expanding market access and facilitating the flow of innovative elements, Wu Hao, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at a State Council policy briefing on March 20.

To enhance the level of foreign investment liberalization, the action plan proposes to completely remove restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector and continue to promote opening-up in telecommunications, healthcare and other service industries.

Notably, it specifies the initiation of pilot programs to relax foreign investment access in sci-tech innovation. Eligible foreign-invested enterprises in pilot free trade zones such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong are allowed to expand in areas like the development and application of genetic diagnosis and treatment technologies. It also supports opening-up measures in fields like information services (limited to app stores) to ensure better results in the pilot free trade zones.

For the smooth flow of innovative elements and promoting innovation cooperation between domestic and foreign-invested enterprises, the action plan suggests supporting data flow between foreign-invested enterprises and their headquarters. It aims to regulate cross-border data security management, organize data exit security assessments, standardize personal information exit contract filings, and other related tasks to facilitate secure and orderly cross-border flow of data related to R&D, production, and sales of foreign-invested enterprises.

Boosting foreign investment was also mentioned as an important task in this year's Government Work Report, which proposed expanding the list of industries encouraging foreign investment, and encouraging foreign enterprises to invest more in China. The action plan reiterates expanding the list of industries for foreign investment and the list of major foreign investment projects.

"Following the 2024 Government Work Report, the NDRC, in conjunction with relevant departments, has already worked on the revision of the Catalog for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries," said Hua Zhong, an official in charge of the department of foreign capital and overseas investment at the NDRC.