The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce have issued updated versions of the so-called negative list that permits greater foreign investment in China. The new negative lists ¨C the Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List 2018 Edition) and the Special Management Measures for Foreign Investment Access in the Free Trade Zone (Negative List 2018 edition) ¨C seek to put in place realistic requirements for higher quality development of China's economy. This regulatory framework，which essentially allows foreign investment in all areas not specifically restricted，takes into consideration the concerns and requirements of foreign-invested enterprises.

In general，the new negative lists continue the trend towards an even more open economy.

As there are still a number of shortcomings in China's market opening effort，it is necessary to further reduce barriers to investment and thereby achieve breakthroughs in major areas of the economy.

The latest national negative list has relaxed controls over market access in the primary，secondary and tertiary industries. It covers finance，transport，trade and commerce，professional services，manufacturing，infrastructure，energy，resources，and agriculture among other fields. A total of 22 major measures were introduced and the number of areas of restrictions on investment was reduced from 63 to 48. In the financial sector，the ceiling on the percentage of foreign ownership of banks has been removed completely and the caps on foreign shareholdings in securities，fund management，futures and life insurance companies in China has been raised to 51%.