- As of the 2024 negative list, manufacturing is fully open to foreign investment with no remaining restricted entries.
自 2024 年版负面清单起，制造业全面向外资产开放，已无残留受限条目。- Foreign investors may wholly own manufacturing WFOEs in China without an equity cap or prior approval for access.
外资可全资持有在华制造外商独资企业，无需股比上限或准入事前审批。- The opening was delivered by deleting the entire “manufacturing” category from the negative list, not by partial relaxation.
开放是通过从负面清单中删除整个”制造业”类别实现的，而非部分放松。- What remains for a manufacturer is ordinary licensing — environmental, safety, product and operating permits — not foreign-access limits.
制造企业仍需面对的是常规许可——环保、安全、产品与经营许可——而非外资准入限制。- Sensitive sub-items touching defense, rare earths or critical tech may still draw security review or export-control scrutiny.
触及国防、稀土或关键技术的敏感子项仍可能招致安全审查或出口管制审视。- Free-trade zones add incentives (tax, bonded logistics) on top of the national full-access baseline for manufacturers.
自贸区在全国全面开放基线之上，为制造企业提供激励（税收、保税物流等）。- 2026 is about executing manufacturing entry efficiently — site selection, licensing and supply-chain setup — not clearing an access cap.
2026 年的重点在于高效执行制造进入——选址、许可与供应链搭建——而非清掉准入上限。
Manufacturing Fully Open to Foreign Investment | 制造业全面向外资开放
The headline: manufacturing is off the list
The single clearest fact for an industrial investor in 2026 is that manufacturing in China is fully open to foreign investment. The 2024 negative list (《外商投资准入特别管理措施（负面清单）（2024年版）》, effective 1 November 2024) deleted the entire “manufacturing” (制造业) category. For the first time, there is no manufacturing entry on the foreign-investment negative list. A foreign investor may establish or acquire a manufacturing business and hold 100% ownership without a foreign-equity cap and without a foreign-access prior approval.
This is the endpoint of a multi-year sequence. Earlier lists had already removed caps in automobiles, shipbuilding, aircraft, and power equipment; the 2024 list finished the job by clearing the category altogether. The practical meaning: if you make physical goods, the access question is, for almost all products, already answered in your favor.
What “fully open” does and does not mean
“Fully open” means no foreign-equity restriction and no negative-list access approval. It does not mean “no regulation.” A manufacturing foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) is still incorporated through the normal company-registration channel, still submits the foreign-investment information report, and still needs the ordinary licences any Chinese manufacturer needs. The access gate is gone; the operating gates are not.
Those operating gates include: business-licence scope, environmental impact approval or filing, work-safety permits, product-quality and compulsory-certification (CCC) where applicable, and sector-specific permits (e.g., for food, drugs, medical devices, chemicals). These apply to domestic and foreign firms alike. The disciplined manufacturer maps them early; they, not the negative list, are where timelines are won or lost.
The path from approval to filing
For a typical unrestricted manufacturing WFOE, the sequence in 2026 is straightforward: screen the sector (off the list), reserve the name, incorporate via SAMR / the local market-regulation bureau using the one-network channel, submit the initial foreign-investment information report, open bank and foreign-exchange accounts, and obtain the relevant operating permits. No commerce-department approval sits in the path. The only ex-ante state reviews that could apply are national security review (for control-acquiring deals in covered defense/important sectors) and SAMR merger control (for transactions above turnover thresholds) — ordinary greenfield manufacturing is generally outside both.
Sensitive manufacturing sub-items
Full access is the default, but a few manufacturing-adjacent situations still draw scrutiny:
- Defense and dual-use: manufacturing tied to national defense or dual-use items may trigger security review or export-control and technology-transfer rules.
- Rare earths and key resources: processing and separation tied to rare earths and certain critical materials retain conditions and strategic control.
- Critical technology: transactions involving important data, core technology, or critical information infrastructure may draw cybersecurity and security review.
These are edges, not the main field. A standard consumer-goods, components, machinery or electronics manufacturer is unaffected. The investor should confirm only that its specific product does not fall into a sensitive corner before assuming full access.
Why this matters for supply-chain strategy
Full manufacturing access reshapes how foreign groups use China. A wholly owned plant can serve the domestic market, export, and integrate into a regional supply chain without a local joint-venture partner imposed by law. This supports several 2026 strategies:
- Local-for-local: own the plant that serves Chinese customers, protecting process and brand control.
- Export platform: use China as a cost-competitive, fully foreign-owned export base.
- R&D plus manufacturing: co-locate a WFOE factory with an R&D entity, with no ownership cap on either.
- FTZ upside: layer FTZ incentives (tax, bonded logistics, streamlined customs) on top of the national full-access baseline.
The removal of the cap is therefore not merely symbolic; it changes the feasible ownership and operating models.
Free-trade zones add a layer
Although manufacturing is open nationwide, FTZs still add value for manufacturers through incentives rather than access. Bonded logistics, streamlined customs (e.g., the two-step declaration and AEO facilitation), tax treatments, and integrated service counters can lower the cost and time of a manufacturing operation. For a foreign manufacturer, the access decision is settled; the location decision then weighs incentives, logistics and talent. Hainan Free Trade Port and leading FTZs are natural candidates where the product and supply chain fit.
A 2026 manufacturing-entry checklist
- Confirm the product is off the negative list — for manufacturing, this is the baseline assumption, but verify no sensitive sub-item applies.
- Choose ownership — a 100% WFOE is permissible; a joint venture is optional, not required.
- Incorporate via the one-network channel and submit the initial foreign-investment information report.
- Map operating permits — environmental, safety, CCC, and sector licences — and start them early.
- Screen security review and merger control only if acquiring control of a covered or large business.
- Evaluate FTZ/Hainan incentives for logistics, tax and customs benefits.
- Set up the supply chain — import/export, bonded options, and local sourcing — within the opened framework.
Manufacturing is the part of China market entry where the hardest question — “may I own it?” — already has a clear answer. The 2026 work is the softer but decisive work of execution: licensing, siting, and supply chain.
制造业全面向外资开放
核心结论：制造业已移出清单
2026 年工业投资者最清晰的事实是：中国制造业已全面向外资产开放。2024 年版负面清单（《外商投资准入特别管理措施（负面清单）（2024年版）》，2024 年 11 月 1 日施行）删除了整个”制造业”类别。这是首次，外资负面清单上已无制造业条目。外资可设立或收购制造企业并持有 100% 股权，既无外资股比上限，亦无外资准入事前审批。
这是多年序列的终点。更早的清单已取消汽车、船舶、飞机及电力设备的股比上限；2024 版通过清空整个类别完成收尾。其实际含义是：若你生产实物商品，对几乎所有产品，准入问题已朝有利于你的方向解决。
“全面开放”的含义与边界
“全面开放”意味着无外资股比限制、无负面清单准入审批。它不意味着”无监管”。制造类外商投资企业仍须经普通公司登记渠道设立，仍须报送外商投资信息报告，仍须取得任何中资制造商都需要的常规许可。准入关卡已去，经营关卡未去。
这些经营关卡包括：经营范围、环评审批或备案、安全生产许可、适用时的产品质量与强制性产品认证（CCC），以及行业特定许可（如食品、药品、医疗器械、化学品）。这些对内资外资企业一体适用。纪律严明的制造商尽早梳理它们；成败所在正是这些，而非负面清单。
从审批到备案的路径
对典型的不受限制造业外商独资企业，2026 年的序列直截了当：筛查行业（清单外）、名称预留、经市场监管局一网通办渠道设立、报送外商投资初始信息报告、开立银行与外汇账户、取得相关经营许可。路径中无商务部门审批。可能适用的唯一事前国家审查是国家安全审查（受覆盖国防/重要领域取得控制权的交易）与 SAMR 经营者集中（达营业额阈值的交易）——普通绿地制造一般均不在此列。
敏感的制造子项
全面开放是默认，但少数制造相邻情形仍受审视：
- 国防与两用：关联国防或两用品的制造可能触发安全审查或出口管制与技术转让规则。
- 稀土与关键资源：关联稀土及若干关键材料的加工与分离保留条件与战略管控。
- 关键技术：涉及重要数据、核心技术或关键信息基础设施的交易可能招致网络安全与安全审查。
这些是边角，而非主战场。标准的消费品、零部件、机械或电子制造商不受影响。投资者仅需确认其具体产品不落入敏感角落，即可假定全面开放。
这对供应链战略的意义
制造全面开放重塑了外资集团运用中国的方式。全资工厂可服务国内市场、出口，并融入区域供应链，而无需法律强加的本地合资伙伴。这支撑若干 2026 战略：
- 本地供本地：持有服务中国客户的工厂，保护工艺与品牌控制。
- 出口平台：将中国作为成本竞争力强、全资持有的出口基地。
- 研发加制造：将外商独资企业工厂与研发实体同址，二者均无持股上限。
- 自贸区加成：在全国全面开放基线之上叠加自贸区激励（税收、保税物流、简化海关）。
取消上限因此不唯象征；它改变了可行的所有体与运营模型。
自贸区叠加一层
尽管制造业全国开放，自贸区仍通过激励而非准入为制造商增值。保税物流、简化海关（如两步申报与 AEO 便利）、税收处理及综合服务窗口，可降低制造运营的成本与时间。对外资制造商，准入决定已定；选址决定继而权衡激励、物流与人才。在产品与供应链契合时，海南自贸港与领先自贸区是自然候选。
2026 年制造进入清单
- 确认产品不在负面清单上：对制造业，这是基线假定，但仍须核实无敏感子项适用。
- 选择所有体：100% 外商独资被允许；合资可选，非必须。
- 经一网通办设立并报送外商投资初始信息报告。
- 梳理经营许可：环保、安全、CCC 及行业许可，尽早启动。
- 仅当取得受覆盖或大型企业控制权时，筛查安全审查与经营者集中。
- 评估自贸区/海南激励：物流、税收与海关收益。
- 在开放框架下搭建供应链：进出口、保税选项与本地采购。
制造业是中国市场进入中”我能否持有？”这一最难问题已有明答的部分。2026 年的工作，是许可、选址与供应链这些更软却更决定性的执行工作。
Sources
- 国家发展和改革委员会、商务部 (NDRC & MOFCOM) — 《外商投资准入特别管理措施（负面清单）（2024年版）》
- 商务部 (MOFCOM) — 制造业全面开放及外商投资信息报告相关说明
- 国家市场监督管理总局 (SAMR) — 市场主体登记、CCC 及生产许可相关规则
- 生态环境部、应急管理部 — 制造业环评、安全生产相关许可要求
- 国务院 — 自由贸易试验区与海南自贸港制造业激励及保税物流相关部署