- China has removed foreign-equity caps on a defined set of value-added telecom (VAT) services in four pilot zones, and the pilot is now being scaled up.
中国在四个试点区域取消了特定增值电信业务的外资股比限制，试点正在有序扩围。- As of early June 2026, 166 foreign-invested enterprises had received pilot approvals, and foreign-invested telecom firms nationwide exceed 3,100, covering all 10 VAT categories.
截至 2026 年 6 月初，已有 166 家外资企业获试点批复，全国外商投资电信企业超 3100 家，经营范围覆盖全部 10 项增值电信业务。- The opened scope includes IDC, CDN, ISP, online data processing and transaction processing, and information services (with carve-outs for news, publishing, audiovisual and cultural operations).
开放范围涵盖互联网数据中心（IDC）、内容分发网络（CDN）、互联网接入服务（ISP）、在线数据处理与交易处理及信息服务（新闻、出版、网络视听、网络文化经营除外）。- Foreign investors should treat the pilot as a licensing-and-filing pathway, not a blanket market opening; approvals are granted case by case in the designated areas.
外资应把试点理解为「获批后开展」的许可/备案路径，而非全面放开；批复在指定区域内逐案发放。- The negative list continues to govern VAT services outside the pilot zones; nationwide manufacturing limits are already zeroed, but telecom remains a phased, pilot-led opening.
试点区域外，增值电信仍受负面清单约束；制造业准入限制已清零，但电信领域仍为分阶段、以试点引领的开放。- Practical next steps: confirm the business falls within the opened catalogue, prepare a pilot application via the local industry regulator, and align data-security obligations with the catalogue.
实操建议：确认业务落入开放目录、通过地方工信主管部门提交试点申请、并同步落实数据安全分类分级义务。
China’s Expanded Opening of Value-Added Telecom Services: A 2026 Pilot Roadmap for Foreign Investors | 增值电信业务扩大对外开放：外资企业 2026 试点落地路线图
China’s telecom sector has moved from cautious liberalisation to a structured, pilot-led opening. In April 2024 the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the *Circular on Launching the Pilot for Expanding the Opening of Value-Added Telecom Services*, lifting foreign-equity restrictions in Beijing’s comprehensive services opening demonstration zone, the Lin-gang New Area and leading area of the Shanghai FTZ, the Hainan Free Trade Port, and the Shenzhen socialist pilot demonstration zone.
The results are now visible. According to MIIT data released on 3 June 2026, since the first batch of pilot approvals in February 2025, 166 foreign-invested enterprises have been approved to operate, and the number of foreign-invested telecom enterprises nationwide has surpassed 3,100, with business scope covering all 10 items in the *Telecom Service Classification Catalogue*. This signals that the opening is no longer theoretical: foreign capital is entering data-centre, access, information-service and related segments in the permitted zones.
What exactly is open? The pilot removes the foreign-equity cap on internet data centres (IDC), content delivery networks (CDN), internet access services (ISP), online data processing and transaction processing (operating e-commerce), and information services — specifically information publishing platforms and delivery services, and information protection and processing services — while excluding internet news, online publishing, online audiovisual, and online cultural operations. In other words, the core infrastructure and platform layers are open, but the content-licensing layer remains reserved.
For a foreign investor, the pathway is not “set up and operate anywhere.” Approvals are granted case by case within the four pilot regions. The applicant engages the local industry and information-technology authority, demonstrates compliance capacity, and receives a pilot approval that authorises the specific VAT businesses. The 2024 *Negative List for Foreign Investment Access* had already removed restrictions on online data processing and transaction processing (operating e-commerce), call centres, store-and-forward, and domestic multi-party communication nationwide; the pilot then went further in the designated zones.
Two compliance threads matter. First, data governance: MIIT has issued the *Trial Measures for Data Security Management in the Industrial and Information Technology Sectors* and is drafting an *Identification Guide for Important Data in Telecom*, so licence holders must classify and protect important and core data. Second, the negative list still binds outside the pilot zones — a foreign group cannot simply extend a pilot approval to a non-pilot province without a separate basis.
Looking ahead, MIIT has said it will summarise and evaluate the first pilot cohort, improve the safety-regulation system, and “study policies to further expand the opening,” taking into account the needs of places such as Ningxia that have sought inclusion. The direction of travel is clear: more regions, more business types, and a maturing regulatory framework. Foreign investors should monitor provincial implementation rules and service guides, which several pilot regions have already published to smooth the application process.
增值电信业务扩大对外开放：外资企业 2026 试点落地路线图
中国电信业正从审慎开放走向结构化、以试点引领的开放。2024 年 4 月，工业和信息化部发布《关于开展增值电信业务扩大对外开放试点工作的通告》，在北京服务业扩大开放综合示范区、上海自贸试验区临港新片区及社会主义现代化建设引领区、海南自由贸易港、深圳中国特色社会主义先行示范区四地，取消多项增值电信业务的外资股比限制。
成效已经开始显现。根据工信部 2026 年 6 月 3 日公布的数据，自 2025 年 2 月首批试点批复发放以来，已有 166 家外资企业获得批复；全国外商投资电信企业超过 3100 家，经营范围已覆盖《电信业务分类目录》全部 10 项增值电信业务。这意味着开放已不再是纸面概念——外资正在许可区域内进入数据中心、接入、信息服务等环节。
具体开放了什么？试点取消了互联网数据中心（IDC）、内容分发网络（CDN）、互联网接入服务（ISP）、在线数据处理与交易处理（经营类电子商务），以及信息服务中信息发布平台和递送服务、信息保护和处理服务业务的外资股比限制；但互联网新闻信息、网络出版、网络视听、互联网文化经营除外。换言之，核心基础设施与平台层开放，内容许可层仍保留。
对外资而言，路径并非「随便设、随便干」。批复在四个试点区域内逐案发放。申请人对接地方工业和信息化主管部门，证明合规能力，取得授权开展特定增值电信业务的试点批复。2024 年版《外商投资准入负面清单》已在全国取消在线数据处理与交易处理（经营类电子商务）、呼叫中心、存储转发类、国内多方通信等股比限制；试点在上述区域进一步突破。
两条合规主线值得关注。其一，数据治理：工信部已印发《工业和信息化领域数据安全管理办法（试行）》，并研究《电信领域重要数据识别指南》，持证企业须开展数据分类分级与重要/核心数据保护。其二，试点区域外仍受负面清单约束——外资集团不能把试点批复直接延伸到非试点省份而无其他依据。
展望未来，工信部表示将做好首批试点总结评估、健全安全监管体系，并「研究扩大开放试点相关政策」，统筹考虑宁夏等地产业的发展与安全条件。开放方向明确：更多区域、更多业务类型、更成熟的监管框架。外资应关注各试点区域已出台的服务指南与申报指引，以顺畅完成申请。
Practical Scenarios for Foreign Operators
A foreign cloud or CDN provider should not assume the pilot equals a national licence. The realistic path is to incorporate or designate a local entity in one of the four pilot zones, map the exact VAT items it intends to operate against the *Telecom Service Classification Catalogue*, and prepare a pilot application that demonstrates technical capability, data localisation and security controls. Where the business touches content — publishing, audiovisual, culture — a separate Chinese-licensed partner or a restricted scope is required, because the pilot does not open those layers.
A foreign investor already holding a mainland JV can use the pilot to raise its stake in a VAT joint venture above 50% inside a pilot zone, subject to approval. Groups should also note that “online data processing and transaction processing (operating e-commerce)” was already opened nationwide by the 2024 negative list, so a foreign-invested e-commerce platform does not need a pilot approval, whereas IDC, CDN and ISP still require one.
Timelines are improving but not instant. Engage the provincial industry regulator early, use any published service guide, and expect a substantive review of data-security arrangements. The first cohort’s experience — 166 approvals by June 2026 — shows the window is open, but each case is assessed on its merits, and data-classification readiness is now a make-or-break factor.
对外国运营者的实务场景
外资云或 CDN 提供者不应把试点等同于全国牌照。现实路径是在四个试点区域之一设立或指定本地实体，将拟经营的具体增值电信项目对照《电信业务分类目录》，并提交能证明技术能力、数据本地化与安全控制的试点申请。若业务触及内容——出版、视听、文化——需中国持牌合作方或受限范围，因为试点不开放这些层。
已持有内地合资企业的外资，可在试点区内将增值电信合资股比提升至 50% 以上，但须获批。集团还应注意，「在线数据处理与交易处理（经营类电子商务）」已由 2024 年负面清单全国开放，外资电商平台无需试点批复，而 IDC、CDN、ISP 仍须试点。
周期在改善但非即时。尽早对接省级工信主管部门，用已发布的服务指南，并预期对数据安全安排的实质审查。首批经验——2026 年 6 月前 166 件批复——显示窗口已开，但每案按实质审查，数据分类就绪度已成为成败关键。
Practitioner Quick Reference
- Pilot zones: Beijing comprehensive services demo zone; Shanghai Lin-gang New Area; Hainan FTP; Shenzhen pilot demonstration zone.
- Opened items: IDC, CDN, ISP, online data processing and transaction processing (e-commerce), information publishing/delivery, information protection and processing.
- Still reserved: internet news, online publishing, online audiovisual, online cultural operations require a Chinese-licensed party.
- Nationwide since 2024: operating e-commerce, call centres, store-and-forward, domestic multi-party communication already opened.
- Data duty: catalogue-based data classification; important/core data identification under MIIT rules.
- Approval style: case-by-case pilot approval in the designated region, not a blanket national licence.
- Watch: provincial service guides and the next expansion wave beyond the first four zones.
实务速查
- 试点区域： 北京服务业扩大开放综合示范区、上海临港新片区、海南自贸港、深圳先行示范区。
- 已开放项： IDC、CDN、ISP、在线数据处理与交易处理（电商）、信息发布与递送、信息保护和处理。
- 仍保留： 互联网新闻、网络出版、网络视听、网络文化经营须中国持牌主体。
- 2024 起全国开放： 经营类电商、呼叫中心、存储转发、国内多方通信已放开。
- 数据义务： 按目录数据分类分级；依工信部规则识别重要/核心数据。
- 批复方式： 指定区域内逐案试点批复，非全国 blanket 牌照。
- 关注： 各试点服务指南及首批四地之后的下一轮扩围。
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