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Chinese Premier Li Qiang has signed a State Council decree issuing a new regulation on outbound investment, which will take effect from July 1, 2026.
The regulation aims to promote the country's high-standard opening up and the high-quality development of its outbound investment, protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors and their outbound investment, and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.
Consisting of 34 articles, the regulation highlights efforts to proactively align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and promote international cooperation in industrial and supply chains.
Senior officials with China's Ministry of Justice, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Commerce said the new regulation represents a major rule-of-law practice in China's unwavering commitment to expanding opening up, and marks a milestone in the history of China's outbound investment development.
According to the regulation, the country will support investors in carrying out overseas investment activities in accordance with market principles and actively participating in international cooperation and competition.
"Investors have the legal right to independent decision-making in outbound investment, bearing their own risks and assuming sole responsibility for their profits and losses," the officials noted.
They added that the regulation also stipulates that in conducting outbound investment and related activities, investors shall comply with laws, regulations and international practices, respect local customs and cultural traditions, observe business ethics, act in good faith and engage in fair competition, fulfill social responsibilities and uphold the national image.
The regulation stresses improving comprehensive services, involving relevant authorities, professional institutions, industry associations as well as trade and investment promotion organizations.
For instance, the country will provide service support through coordinated services in areas including foreign affairs, legal affairs, finance and taxation, trade, logistics and customs, among others.
Meanwhile, professional providers of consulting and evaluation services, legal services, accounting and auditing, credit rating, mediation and arbitration, and intellectual property services, are encouraged to improve their international service capabilities and provide high-quality professional services, the officials said.
The rules also stress strengthening risk prevention and control, improving the soundness and security of outbound investment, as well as reinforcing investors' primary responsibility and preventing any disruption to the outbound investment market order.
Underscoring active work to negotiate and conclude international economic and trade agreements, the regulation encourages the resolution of investment disputes via various mechanisms.
According to the officials, the regulation has also proposed necessary and defensive measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese investors and their outbound investments, as well as to safeguard national overseas interests from threats and infringements.
They include government-initiated probes into trade-related investment barriers set up by foreign countries and regions, and the Chinese government's adoption of countermeasures against discriminatory prohibitions, restrictions or other similar measures adopted by foreign countries and regions or international organizations in investment and business operations.
Recent government data showed that China's outbound direct investment across all industries had reached 429.42 billion yuan (about 63 billion U.S. dollars) during the first four months of 2026, representing an increase of 3.9 percent year on year.
The General Administration of Customs (GAC), in collaboration with 24 departments and units, recently deployed a special campaign to facilitate cross-border trade in 2026. Based on groundwork laid in 2025, 20 cities including Changsha have been added to the pilot program for this campaign. The Changsha Customs Authority rolled out a package of 25 measures tailored to Hunan's particular conditions, aiming to further optimize the business environment at ports and facilitate cross-border trade. These measures focus on stabilizing orders, expanding markets, and increasing benefits, consistently prioritizing the facilitation of cross-border trade. The measures take effect right away.
The authority will implement targeted tax reduction and exemption policies, ensuring reviews of the encouraged domestically-funded projects with an investment of 50 million CNY and above, and will provide import tariff reduction and exemption for major technical equipment, to enhance industrial upgrading. The customs will establish a list of beneficiaries among countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, optimizing the process for issuing certificates of origin, and guiding more enterprises to obtain authorized exporter status and to independently issue statements of origin.
In terms of expanding trade with Africa, the Changsha Customs Authority will implement the policy of extending zero-tariff treatment to cover 100 percent of tariff lines for all 53 African countries that have diplomatic ties with China, to introduce more specialty African products into Hunan's market. The authority will further roll out a pre-assessment system for the access of African food exported to China, establishing a dedicated "green channel" for African agricultural and food products, and providing immediate and priority inspection upon application.
As for serving new quality productive forces, the Changsha Customs Authority will support the expansion of the "whitelist" for the import of key raw materials for strategic emerging industries; piloting the replication of the "assessment model for lithium battery packaging product lines" and expanding the coverage of the joint supervision model for "separate container shipment," to facilitate export of the "three new" products—electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products. The authority will encourage the development of a new "bonded+" business model, allowing enterprises within comprehensive bonded zones to carry out bonded maintenance of the mechanical and electrical products they produced.
For international logistics channels, the Changsha Customs Authority will deepen the "direct pick-up at airport" and "port-area collaboration" services and implement supervision reforms to enhance the efficiency of air cargo export operations. The Authority will also align with the industrial layout of the Changsha Comprehensive Bonded Zone and the Airport Economic Zone to expand air-water and air-rail multimodal freight services. Relying on the construction of Terminal 3 at Changsha Airport, the authority will simultaneously upgrade the "smart passenger inspection" system and optimize customs clearance processes for designated routes, helping build a regional air freight hub. Meanwhile, Yueyang Sanhe Airport will be coordinated for temporary opening.
According to the Changsha Customs Authority, foreign trade enterprises inside and outside the province may obtain more information about the 25 measures via the 12360 hotline or the official WeChat public account.
This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.
China has unveiled a new list of 13 major foreign-funded projects with a planned investment of 13.4 billion U.S. dollars, the country's top economic planner said on Wednesday.
The new batch of projects is mainly in the manufacturing sector, including electronics, chemicals, automobiles and electrical machinery, aiming to accelerate the development of industrial clusters, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Amid efforts to strengthen support for the service sector and promote deeper integration between modern services and advanced manufacturing, logistics projects have been included on the list for the first time, while continued support will be given to R&D center projects in sectors such as biomedicine.
Investment sources for these projects are diversifying, with companies from Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Türkiye involved, the NDRC noted.
China will improve follow-up services for these projects, step up support for foreign-invested enterprises, and address their concerns and practical difficulties, an NDRC official said.
So far, such major foreign-funded projects have seen cumulative investment reach 108 billion U.S. dollars, the NDRC data showed.
China has intensified efforts to promote foreign investment. Earlier in February, a new edition of the Catalog of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment came into effect, with the goal of channeling more foreign investment toward advanced manufacturing, modern services, high technology, energy conservation and environmental protection.
According to this year's government work report, the country pledges to deepen reform of the institutional framework for promoting foreign investment in 2026, with measures to encourage foreign-funded enterprises to reinvest in the country and expand production locally.
The Ministry of Commerce has vowed to further optimize supportive policies for foreign investment in 2026, pledging efforts to provide equal treatment to foreign-invested enterprises in domestic consumption promotion initiatives, government procurement, and public bidding processes so as to promote foreign firms' long-term development in the country.
Wang Ya, an official heading the foreign investment management department under the commerce ministry, said at a press conference on Monday that China will remain unwavering in expanding high-standard opening up as it seeks to foster new strengths in attracting foreign investment and enhance the "Invest in China" brand.
Wang said the ministry will expand market access and the opening-up of the services sector, including telecommunications, healthcare and education. It will also support foreign-funded enterprises in the services sector in expanding their value chains.
Efforts will also be made to strengthen services for foreign investors by fully implementing the national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises, focusing on their concerns, continuously optimizing services, and holding roundtable meetings for foreign-funded enterprises, Wang said.
China will closely align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, carry out more extensive institutional opening-up trials, and accelerate the implementation of pilot projects for expanding the opening up of the services sector, Wang said.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has signed a State Council decree promulgating a regulation on commercial mediation to improve the country's business environment.
The new regulation, which will take effect on May 1, 2026, comprises 33 articles. It aims to regulate commercial mediation activities, resolve commercial disputes effectively, protect the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved, as well as promote the development of the commercial mediation industry.
It stipulates that commercial disputes that arise between parties in fields such as trade, investment, finance, transportation, real estate, engineering construction, and intellectual property rights shall be subject to commercial mediation.
The regulation clarifies the management system for commercial mediation work, with the judicial administrative department of the State Council guiding and regulating the work nationwide and formulating overall plans for the development of the sector.
Local governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for guiding and regulating commercial mediation work within their respective administrative regions through their judicial administrative departments, according to the regulation.
It also stresses that the country shall cultivate internationally influential commercial mediation organizations to enhance their international competitiveness and support them in carrying out cross-border commercial mediation activities, and encourage them to conduct international exchanges and cooperation.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has signed a decree of the State Council to unveil the revised edition of regulations aimed at ensuring timely payments to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Major revisions to the previous regulations issued in 2020 include the detailing of work responsibilities, clear requirements for payment deadlines, improvement of supervision, and enhancement of punishments for illegal acts.
The new regulations, which will go into effect on June 1, detail the responsibilities of the relevant departments at the central and local levels to ensure timely payments to SMEs.
The regulations specifically require that large-scale enterprises pay SMEs within 60 days of the delivery of cargo, projects or services.
The new regulations also improve supervision and settling of complaints to ensure timely payments to SMEs, while stepping up punishment of illegal acts.
China on Wednesday issued an action plan to stabilize foreign investment in 2025, which was approved by a recent State Council executive meeting.
The action plan was devised by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission, according to a notice issued by the General Office of the State Council.
Foreign investment is a key aspect of promoting high-standard opening-up, and plays a significant role in fostering new quality productive forces and advancing Chinese modernization, according to the action plan, which was formulated to ensure stable foreign investment in 2025.
Per the plan, China will support pilot regions in effectively implementing opening-up policies related to such areas as value-added telecommunication, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, providing whole-journey services for foreign-invested projects in these sectors.
The country will continue expanding its pilot programs to open up fields such as telecommunication and medical services in a timely manner.
According to the plan, China will seize the initiative by opening its education and cultural sectors further, publish implementation plans, and push those plans forward steadily.
The plan calls for efforts to expand the national pilot program to open the services industry further and promote the orderly opening-up of the biomedical sector.
Additionally, it emphasizes encouraging foreign equity investment in China to attract more high-quality foreign direct investment in the country's listed companies.
China will lift restrictions on domestic loans for foreign-invested enterprises, allowing these firms to use domestic financing for equity investments, according to the plan.
It highlights key sectors to attract foreign investment. According to the plan, foreign businesses are encouraged to invest in animal husbandry-related fields such as breeding, feeding equipment production and production of feed and veterinary medicine, and enjoy national treatment.
It also supports foreign enterprises to participate in China's new industrialization, with a focus on high-tech fields. Foreign investment is also welcomed in services sectors such as elderly care, culture and tourism, sports, health care, vocational education, and finance.
It calls for clarifying standards for the government procurement of domestic products, and for measures to ensure products produced by enterprises of different ownership within China participate equally in government procurement activities.
The plan was approved at a State Council executive meeting held earlier this month. The meeting highlighted the important role of foreign-invested enterprises in employment, export stability and industrial upgrading, and urged more practical and effective measures to maintain existing investments and attract new ones.
In 2024, 59,080 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, up 9.9 percent year on year. China attracted an annual overseas investment of over 1 trillion yuan (about 139.5 billion U.S. dollars) for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023.
Foreign investors are becoming increasingly bullish on the Chinese market, bolstered by the country's recent incremental policies aimed at vitalizing growth momentum.
UBS Investment Bank has raised its China 2024 growth forecast to 4.8 percent from 4.6 percent, while Goldman Sachs has lifted China's GDP prediction this year from 4.7 percent to 4.9 percent.
The uplift is mostly due to China's third-quarter year-on-year GDP growth of 4.6 percent, slightly above market expectation of 4.4 percent, and the series of support policies the government recently launched, said UBS economist Wang Tao.
Economists with Goldman Sachs noted that the latest round of China's incremental policies clearly indicates that policymakers have made a turn on cyclical policy management and increased their focus on the economy.
So far this year, multiple international institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have raised their forecast for China's economic growth for 2024.
In the face of mounting challenges at home and abroad, China's GDP grew 4.8 percent year on year in the first three quarters of this year. The country set a target of economic growth at around 5 percent for this year.
To beef up the economy in response to looming challenges, Chinese authorities have unveiled a broader-than-expected policy package since late September, which focused on enhancing counter-cyclical adjustments, expanding effective domestic demand, supporting business operation, promoting the recovery of the property market, and invigorating capital markets.
Aside from these pro-growth policies, Chinese policymakers continued to improve investment facilitation, create a favorable investment environment, promote high-level financial opening up to the outside world, and actively support foreign investors in participating in the Chinese capital market.
Alan Ho, co-senior country officer for China at J.P. Morgan, said that the pace of China's financial market opening up had accelerated in recent years.
For example, foreign ownership restrictions in local securities, funds and futures companies have been lifted and financial markets' connectivity mechanisms have been maturing more quickly than expected, which has brought broader development opportunities to foreign financial institutions, Ho said.
Data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed that foreign holdings of domestic renminbi bonds have so far exceeded 640 billion U.S. dollars, reaching a historic high.
Net foreign investment in domestic bonds surpassed 80 billion U.S. dollars in the first three quarters of this year, while foreign investment in Chinese equities saw notable improvement.
Foreign central banks and commercial banks are the biggest investors in domestic renminbi bonds, as they allocate a higher proportion of investment in medium and long-term bonds such as treasury bonds and policy bank bonds, according to the foreign exchange regulator.
The growing foreign holdings have reflected the global investors' confidence in the Chinese market. Currently, 24 global systemically important banks have a presence in China.
Industry insiders believed that foreign investors' active buy-in of Chinese assets has shown their optimism in China's continuous opening-up measures and policy support in the capital market.
During the World Bank's 110th meeting of the Development Committee last week in Washington DC, Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min pledged that China will intensify countercyclical adjustments of fiscal policy.
A series of strong measures will be implemented to resolve local government debt risks, stabilize the real estate market, increase the income of key groups, enhance people's livelihoods, and drive equipment upgrades and trade-in deals for consumer goods, Liao said.
By leveraging government spending to stimulate social investment and consumption, effective demand will be increased, he said, noting that China is confident in achieving the annual economic growth target, and will continue to inject impetus to world economic growth.
China will introduce a package of targeted incremental fiscal policy measures in the near future to boost the economy, Minister of Finance Lan Fo'an told a press conference on Saturday.
The package includes increasing the debt ceiling on a relatively large scale in a lump sum to replace existing hidden debts of local governments and help defuse their debt risks.
The minister said the counter-cyclical adjustment involves not just policies that are already going through relevant decision-making procedures but also other policy tools in consideration, such as debt issuance and deficit rise.
There remains considerable room for China's central finance to issue debts and expand the deficit, he said.
For the property market, the minister said the country will apply a set of fiscal policy tools including local government special-purpose bonds, special funds and taxation policies to help stabilize the sector.
China will issue special treasury bonds to support large state-owned commercial banks in replenishing the core tier-1 capital, according to Lan.
The move is aimed at enhancing the banks' risk resilience and lending capacity to better serve the development of the real economy, he said.
An executive meeting of the State Council, presided over by Premier Li Qiang on Monday, reviewed and approved four documents, discussed policy measures to support the high-quality development of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and approved five nuclear power projects.
Among the approved documents was the 2024 edition of a set of special administrative measures -- a negative list -- for foreign investment access.
According to the negative list, China will relax restrictions on foreign investment further by completely abolishing entry barriers in the manufacturing sector, while accelerating the opening up of sectors such as telecommunication, education and health care services.
Another document approved at the meeting was a set of guidelines on promoting the high-quality development of services trade through high-level opening up.
The meeting stressed that accelerating the development of services trade is essential to expanding high-level opening up and fostering new foreign trade drivers.
Efforts should be made to promote innovative development in key services trade areas, as well as the integration of services trade and goods trade, according to the meeting.
It also highlighted the importance of efforts to create new services trade growth drivers, and to support the international development of professional services such as finance, consultation, design and certification.
The meeting discussed measures with a focus on strengthening policy coordination in areas of taxation, finance, science and technology, industry and human resources, in order to foster innovative SMEs that use specialized, sophisticated technologies to produce novel or unique products.
Efforts must also be made to make those SMEs smarter, and more digitalized and eco-friendly in a bid to enhance their core competitiveness, according to the meeting.
Noting that safety is the lifeline of nuclear power development, the meeting stressed the need to strengthen safety regulations to ensure the utmost safety of nuclear power and promote the long-term healthy development of the industry.
1. Institutions and individuals (including foreign-invested enterprises, research and development centers with foreign investments, foreign enterprises, and foreign individuals) shall be exempt from the business tax on the incomes gained from technological transfer, technological development business, relevant technological consultation, and technological services.
2. According to GSBF (2004) Doc. No.80, the approval for business tax exemption on the income gained from technical transfer by foreign enterprises and foreign individuals in Chinese territory is cancelled. Upon cancellation, foreign enterprises and foreign individuals applying for business tax exemption shall submit the following documents to the taxation authorities:
(1) The Chinese version of thecontract for technical transfer or technical development;
(2) The certificate of examination opinions, provided by the provincial sci-tech department in charge at the location of the technology transferee;
(3) The technology transfer permit issued by state department in charge;
(4) Foreign enterprises and foreign individuals, who entrust a Chinese technology transferee to handle the procedures for business tax exemption, shall provide a Power of Attorney document, signed by the legal representative of the applicant.
3. Foreign enterprises which merely sold software to enterprises in Chinese territory, or transfered related software with posts and communication equipment and computers, no matter whether the domestic accepters have paid the customs duty and value-added tax in the import link for the above-mentioned software or not, will not be charged business tax for the software use fee.
4. Ordinary life insurance and pension insurance within less than one year (including one year) which return both the principal and interest, as well as health insurance above one year (including one year) launched by the insurance companies, can be exempt from business tax, if examined, and listed by the Ministry of Finance and State General Administration of Taxation as tax-free.
5. Insurance income, from individual investment bonuses launched by the insurance companies, may be exempt from the business tax.
6. The grain logistic project which has been loaned by the World Bank may be exempt from construction and installation business tax, and from project service income tax.
7. Tax deductions for foreign-funded financing business; In case foreign financial institutions engaged in financing business, the interest payment for an overseas foreign exchange loan shall be deducted from the payable business tax, but the domestic foreign exchange (or RMB) loan interest shall not be deducted from the payable business tax.
8. RMB transactions between foreign financial institutions shall not be levied with business tax, temporarily.
9. In case foreign companies transfer the stock rights of an enterprises owned in Chinese territory, the business tax may be exempted if the stock right is not involved with the transfer of intangible assets or real estate.
10. Foreign funded enterprises engaged in financing lease business, with the approval of the Ministry of Commerce, shall enjoy equal treatment, in terms of business tax collection, as do domestic enterprises in the financing lease business, with the approval of the People's Bank of China, based on relevant regulations for financing lease.
11. Any foreign enterprise identified with countries that signed the Protocol and Agreement with China, meeting the terms of Protocol of Double Tax Levying Avoidance, signed between China and other countries, the terms of the Protocol of Mutual Exemption for International Transport Income of Shipping Companies, the Ocean Shipping Agreement, as well as other agreements or Exchange of Notes, (hereinafter called Protocol or Agreement), may be exempt from the enterprise annual income tax and business tax, if they get freight income from international transports, by operating shipping based on the terms defined in The Notice of Interpreting Chinese Transport Issues in the Tax Levying Regulations, promulgated by State General Administration of Taxation(GSH[1998]No.241, except for the agent income of various shipping agents.
12. Foreign-funded enterprises engaged in the treatment of financial assets in China are exempt from the business tax, if they handle retreatment of creditor's right and equity capital (including transfer from the creditor's right to the equity capital).
13. China Mobile Group Corp., and its mainland subsidiaries under China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd., are exempt from the business tax for various forms of communications and relevant services they provided in the process of sponsoring the Organizing Committee of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
1. Schools, hospitals, sanatoriums for the old, nurseries, and kindergartens which are run by Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents, foreign-funded enterprises, enterprises with funds from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, foreign citizens, or citizens without nationality (stateless persons), are exempt from urban real estate tax for private use of housing.
2. Foreign-funded enterprises and enterprises with funds from Hong Kong, Macao and, Taiwan, whose handicapped employees account for more than 35% of the average staff, for an entire year, are exempt from urban real estate tax for their self-use houses.
3. Foreign citizens, citizens without nationality, and residents of Hong Kong, Macao and, Taiwan are exempt from urban real estate tax for their non-business use of houses.
4. Unsold or untapped commercial houses which are developed and built by foreign-funded enterprises and enterprises with fund from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are exempt from urban real estate tax.
5. Foreign-funded enterprises and enterprises with funds from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are temporarily exempt from 50 per cent of the urban real estate tax for the residential buildings they rent to their employees.
6. Foreign-funded enterprise is exempt from the urban real estate tax, for temporary shops built and leased, in the process of commodity development.
7. Hong Kong & Macao International (Group) Co. , Ltd., as well as its mainland and Hong Kong subsidiaries, is exempt from the urban real estate tax for its real estate in Chinese territory, and the real estate transferred from a debtor.
8. The urban real estate tax, levied in terms of the original value, shall be temporarily deducted by 20%; levied in terms of the lease income, and shall be temporarily deducted by 33.3%. The taxpayer having difficulty in paying the real estate tax may apply to the local tax authority for corresponding exemption. With the examination and approval of the local tax authority of and above prefecture level, based on this very article and the authorities over tax-reduction, the urban real estate tax may be reduced accordingly.
(1) Foreign experts are exempted from the individual income tax for their wages. The following foreign experts are exempted from individual income tax for their wage and salary (CSZ (1994) No. 20):
a. Foreign experts directly designated by World Bank to China according to the Special Loan Agreement of the World Bank;
b. Foreign experts directly designated by UN organizations to China;
c. Foreign experts designated to China for the UN aid programs;
d. Foreign experts designated by donor countries to China for the donated programs without payments;
e. Foreign cultural and educational experts in China for cultural exchange programs for no more than 2 years based on the agreement of two governments, whose wage and salary are borne by the designated country;
f. Foreign experts designated by non-official scientific research institutes, with the wage and salary borne by the organization of the designated country.
(2) Foreign employees who work only in international organs and embassies in China may be exempted from the individual income tax temporarily.
(3) The foreigners can be exempted from individual income tax with relevant verifications approved by tax authorities for their housing allowance, accommodation allowance, washing fee, removal costs, business trip allowance, home leave expense, language training fee, children educational expense and other allowances in the form of non-cash or complete reimbursement.
(4) The foreign investors shall be exempted from income tax for the profits (stock bonus, interests) gained from foreign invested enterprises or stock bonus and dividends gained from Sino-foreign joint ventures.
(5) Foreign enterprises and individuals holding B Share shall be temporarily exempted from the enterprise income tax and individual income tax respectively for the stock bonus (dividends) they gained from B Share or overseas share issuing enterprises within Chinese territory.
(6) Upon the verification of local taxation authorities, foreign insurance premiums of employees working in China, which are paid by foreign invested enterprises or exclusively foreign funded enterprises but not deducted from taxable income of the enterprise and which, according to relevant state laws and regulations, are fees of social insurance and shall be paid by the employer, may not be included in the individual income tax of the employee.
(7) Teachers and researchers concerned, who are citizens of the contracting state and engaged in teaching, lecturing or scientific researches in Chinese universities, colleges, schools or other educational institutes, or scientific research institutions, based on the tax exemption clause in the agreement signed by Chinese and foreign departments, are exempted from the income tax during the period stipulated by the agreement.
