Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) issued

investment in China
Many people believe that to invest in China is to invest in the future.

The Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment of China is a very important document, especially for those who have a plan to invest in China. It tells you what is the encouraged foreign investment in China.

On December 27, 2020, China National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Commerce publicly issued the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment (2020 Edition), which will enter into force on January 27, 2021. The catalogue of 2019 Edition shall be abolished at the same time. 

The Catalogue has a total of 1235 entries, an increase of 127 items and a revision of 88 articles compared with the 2019 edition, further expanding the scope of encouraging foreign investment. Among them, the national catalogue of industries with foreign investment encouraged (hereinafter referred to as the “national catalogue”) is 480, with 65 items added and 51 revised; the catalogue of industries with foreign investment advantages in the central and western regions (hereinafter referred to as the “central and western regions catalogue”) is 755, with 62 items added and 37 items revised. 

The main changes include: (1) To give further play to the positive role of foreign investment in the industrial chain supply chain. The national catalogue continues to regard the manufacturing industry as the key direction of encouraging foreign investment, and adds relevant contents according to the guidance of “attracting foreign investment to supplement chain”, “attracting foreign investment strong chain” and “attracting foreign investment to expand the chain”. In the field of raw materials, add or modify items such as high purity electronic grade hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen fluoride, special glass fiber, polarizer base film, diffusion film, mask, polyethylene polyamine, high performance fiber and so on. In the field of spare parts, add or modify items such as high-pressure vacuum components, special valves, special bearings, special glass, wheel speed sensors and so on. In the field of terminal products, add or modify integrated circuit test equipment, L3/L4/L5 autopilot hardware, laser projection equipment, ultra-high definition TV, ventilator, ECMO, artificial intelligence auxiliary medical equipment and so on. 

(2) To further encourage foreign investment in producer services. The national catalogue will promote the integrated development of the service industry and the manufacturing industry as one of the priorities of this revision, and develop new business type and new infrastructure construction in the course of opening wider to the outside world. In the field of R & D and design, we will add or modify the R & D of the fifth generation mobile communication technology, the development of block chain technology, the design of sewage treatment facilities, and so on. In the field of business services, new items such as maintenance of high-end equipment, transformation and integration of digital production lines have been added. In the field of modern logistics, items such as cross-border e-commerce retail, commodity import and export distribution center, community chain distribution and so on have been added or modified. In the field of information services, items such as online education, online medical care, online office and so on have been added. 

(3) To further encourage foreign investment in the central and western regions. According to the opinions of relevant provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), the central and western catalogue shall appropriately add entries to promote the development of regional open economy and export-oriented industrial clusters. New items such as agricultural product processing and tourism development have been added in Heilongjiang, Yunnan and other provinces. New items have been added in Henan, Shaanxi, Guangxi and other provinces, such as medical devices, epidemic prevention and protective supplies, production of APIs, and so on. New items such as semiconductor materials, graphene and industrial ceramics have been added in Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing and other provinces. New entries for vocational colleges have been added in Liaoning, Anhui, Hunan and other provinces. New items related to trade, shipping, finance and tourism have been added in Hainan to support the construction of a free trade port in Hainan. The catalogue of Industries encouraging Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) is an important foreign investment promotion policy in China. 

Foreign investment projects belonging to the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) may enjoy preferential treatment such as taxation and land use in accordance with laws, administrative regulations or the provisions of the State Council.

Useful tools:

  1. click here to download the Catalogue in pdf (only Chinese version, in case you need an English version, pls contact us)
  2. click here to see Youly’s consulting service on legal & investment environment of China
  3. link to Chinese official FDI guide website