China’s Foreign Investment Encouraged Catalogue and Negative Lists as a Tool of Foreign Direct Investment Attraction
China’s Foreign Investment Encouraged Catalogue and Negative Lists as a Tool of Foreign Direct Investment Attraction

Summary/Abstract: Theoretical background: Due to the growing maturity of Chinese market the country needs to adjust its policy regarding foreign direct investment (FDI), i.e. to increase openness for FDI, to keep control over them in key industries and to influence their inflow in desired industries and regions. Adopting the negative-list approach and changes in both the negative list and encouraged industry catalogue provides tools for this challenge.Purpose of the article: The purpose of this article is to present how changes in China’s Foreign Investment Encouraged Catalogue and Negative Lists both in free-trade zones (FTZs) and at the national level are used as a tool for managing country’s FDI inflow.Research methods: Analysis of legal documents and reports as well as literature review.Main findings: Starting from the adoption of negative-list approach in FTZs in 2013, the negative lists had been drastically reduced both in reference to FTZs and national level. Those reductions lead to a decrease in China FDI restrictiveness index. FTZs were used as a testing area for both the negative list composition and negative-list approach itself. Negative lists allowed the state to keep control over FDI in key industries allowing, at the same time, greater freedom for foreign investors. Encouraged catalogue is used not only as a tool for attracting FDI from desired industries but also for addressing regional inequalities.

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