CCTV News: The State Council Information Office held a regular briefing on the State Council’s policies on February 20, and further interpreted the previously released "Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment in 2025" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"). What are the key points and highlights?

Highlight 1: Release a positive signal of further opening up to the outside world

According to reports, as of the end of 2024, foreign investors have invested in and established enterprises in China, and actually used 20.6 trillion yuan of foreign capital. The "Action Plan" has sent a positive signal of further opening up, and proposed a series of measures such as promoting the acceleration and efforts of the national comprehensive pilot work for expanding opening up of the service industry, further reducing the negative list of market access, and improving the level of outward-oriented economic development of national economic and technological development zones. Highlight 2: Form a "combination punch" of stabilizing foreign investment with "1+N" policy.

Relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission said that they will work with relevant departments to actively connect with international high-standard economic and trade rules in seven areas including property rights protection, industrial subsidies, environmental standards, labor protection, government procurement, e-commerce, and finance to achieve the compatibility of rules, regulations, management, and standards; promote the expansion of independent opening up in an orderly manner in four markets including commodity markets, service markets, capital markets, and labor markets, and expand unilateral opening to the least developed countries. In the next step, various departments will also promote the issuance of several supporting policy documents to form a "1+N" "combination punch" of stabilizing foreign investment.

Highlight 3: Issue the new version of the "Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment" as soon as possible

Relevant person in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission introduced that relevant departments will issue the 2025 version of the "Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment" as soon as possible in accordance with the procedures. The new catalog will focus on adding items in the fields of advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, energy conservation and environmental protection, and encourage more foreign investment to be invested in the central and western regions and northeastern regions. In addition, the National Development and Reform Commission has worked with relevant departments to launch the formulation of policies to encourage domestic reinvestment by foreign-invested enterprises and the compilation of the "China Questions and Answers for Foreign Investment".

Highlight 4: Expand the opening of value-added telecommunications services

The "Action Plan" proposes to expand the pilot opening of telecommunications, medical care, education and other fields. According to reports, as of the end of 2024, 2,343 foreign-funded enterprises have been approved to operate telecommunications services in China, bringing more choices and differentiated services to telecom users. In 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with relevant departments, formulated the "Notice on Carrying out Pilot Work for Expanding Value-Added Telecommunications Business", which clearly stated that the foreign-invested shareholding restrictions on multiple businesses such as Internet data centers were lifted in four places including Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, and Shenzhen. At present, dozens of foreign-funded enterprises are actively applying for participation.

Highlight 5: Create a market-oriented, rule of law-based and internationalized business environment

Zhou Weijun, Director of the Credit Supervision and Administration Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that in 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation will promote the expansion of high-level opening up to the outside world in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Action Plan for stabilizing foreign investment, and create a market-oriented, rule of law-based and internationalized business environment.