The negative list, published for the first time in 2018, undergoes a further scissoring. Investments considered prohibited by China are restricted, both to foreign and local operators. A sort of “gift” to investors, especially in the service and finance sector; the NDRC Reform Commission released it on the same day that the Trade Pact negotiators met via video after the Zurich talks between the top of American and Chinese diplomacy, Katherine Tai and Liu He. Beijing aims to cancel the hefty Trump-era legacy tariffs still in place.
The new scissor cut to opportunities
The National Development and Reform Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce revised the list of investments prohibited for foreign and Chinese companies introduced in 2018 and periodically updated since then.
Comments can be made until next Thursday, when the list becomes definitive. What matters is that anything that is not included in the list can be the object of an investment. China has thus overcome the old classification of investments implemented through the investment catalog which, instead, included those allowed.
However, in line with the latest developments of the Chinese government, a ban on investing in cryptocurrencies and private media has been introduced: a ban, the latter, which represents a novelty for companies in Beijing.
The video call between Tai and He negotiators
The timing of the release of the new list is striking: it was made public on the day of the virtual meeting between Vice Premier Liu He and United States trade representative Katherine Tai, a meeting that Washington has called a “test” to understand whether direct commitment can help solve the problem of Beijing’s business practices.