This aerial photo taken on Aug. 1, 2023 shows a view of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone in east China's Shanghai.
BEIJING - China's negative lists for foreign investment have been reduced by more than 80 percent since 2013 when the negative list approach was first adopted in China's inaugural pilot free trade zone in Shanghai, the official said.
The shrinking negative lists mirror the progress of China's opening up in different sectors, said Yang Zhengwei, head of the ministry's Department of pilot FTZs and free trade ports. For example, restrictions remain limited in agriculture only in the seed sector.
Negative lists related to manufacturing in FTZs have been cleared and the services industry is encouraged by more foreign-controlled or wholly foreign-owned businesses, he said.
Today, foreign companies are routinely checking negative lists when they come to China for the first time.
10 years ago, the negative list approach was quite new for China, and a key reason that pilot FTZs were established was to trial such an approach, he said.
In 2018, the negative list for foreign investment access was promoted nationwide, indicating accelerated opening-up, he said.
China now has 21 FTZs and the Hainan Free Trade Port. The 21 FTZs accounts for about 18 percent of the country's total imports and exports in 2022.