China is set to fully open its manufacturing sector to foreign investment and provide more room for foreign capital in its health care sector, contributing to efforts to revive the world’s second-largest economy.
Beijing will lift the last remaining restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector and remove the list of areas where foreign investors are not allowed to invest from November 1, according to a statement by the National Development and Reform Commission published on Sunday.
The government pledged to promote the expansion and opening up of the services sector and encourage foreign investment access in that sector, the NDRC said. Authorities are studying possible policy changes, with one of the main directions being to promote further foreign investment in services.
In addition, China also announced a series of policies to further open up the health care sector. Foreign capital will be allowed to develop and apply technologies related to stem cells, gene diagnostics and treatment in the pilot free trade zones in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Hainan, according to a statement on the Ministry of Commerce website. All products that have been registered, marketed and approved for production can then be used nationwide.
The government will also allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hainan Island, the statement said. However, the takeover of public hospitals and facilities practicing traditional Chinese medicine will still not be allowed, it added. The new policy will take effect immediately.
