Baker McKenzie has issued the following Client Alert:
On December 7, 2016, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) and Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) released a draft 2016 version of the “Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries” (“Catalogue”) for public comment until January 6, 2017.

The draft was issued following the recent reform of the foreign invested enterprise (“FIE”) approval regime. The special administrative measures on access of foreign investments (“Negative List”) section of the Catalogue will be used to determine whether foreign investments in relevant industries will be subject to the approval of MOFCOM or its local branches.

The new draft also promises to open up a significant number of currently restricted and prohibited sectors to foreign investors. Compared to the current version of the Catalogue, which was issued on March 10, 2015, the draft Catalogue reduces the number of restrictive measures (i.e. limitations on ownership of shares, restricted items and prohibited items) from 93 to 62.

The full Client Alert can be consulted here.