- The 2026 Government Work Report makes services the explicit focus of market-access expansion, naming value-added telecom, biotech and wholly foreign-owned hospitals as pilot priorities.
2026年政府工作报告明确以服务业为市场准入扩大重点，点名增值电信、生物技术、外商独资医院为试点优先项。- It commits to compressing the cross-border services-trade negative list and to an orderly expansion of the digital domain.
报告承诺压减跨境服务贸易负面清单，并有序推进数字领域开放。- It reaffirms the drive to join DEPA and CPTPP and to sign more regional and bilateral trade-and-investment agreements.
报告重申推动加入DEPA与CPTPP，商签更多区域与双边贸易投资协定。- It promises to implement the new Encouraged Catalogue, promote foreign reinvestment and localised production, and polish the “Invest in China” brand.
报告承诺实施新版鼓励目录、促进外资境内再投资与本地化生产，擦亮”投资中国”名片。- Officials outlined “four new business opportunities” for foreign investors — the super-scale market, services, the innovation ecosystem and opening highlands.
官方为外资勾勒”四个新的商机”——超大规模市场、服务业、创新生态、开放高地。- The report frames opening as “autonomous” — opening on China’s own timetable rather than under external pressure.
报告将开放定义为”自主开放”——按中国自身节奏而非外部压力开放。
2026 Government Work Report on Foreign Investment: Policy Signals for Market Entry | 2026年政府工作报告外资表述：市场准入政策信号
The Report in Context
Delivered at the 2026 National People’s Congress, the Government Work Report is the annual statement of economic and reform priorities that frames the year’s legislative and regulatory agenda. On foreign investment, the 2026 report is notable for continuity with the 15th Five-Year Plan and for a clear rhetorical tilt: opening is to be “autonomous” (自主开放) — pursued on China’s own timetable — and it is to be “institutional” (制度型开放), meaning alignment with high-standard international rules rather than merely lower tariff lines. For a market entrant, the report is the signal that tells you which sectors Beijing will ease next and which policy instruments (negative-list cuts, pilot zones, the encouraged catalogue) will carry the opening.
Services as the Opening Priority
The report’s foreign-investment language sits inside a broader section on “further expanding high-level opening-up.” Its most specific market-access commitment is to expand market access and opening with services as the focus (以服务业为重点扩大市场准入和开放领域). Three service sub-sectors are named explicitly as pilot priorities to be further expanded:
- Value-added telecom — building on the 90-plus pilot approvals already granted;
- Biotechnology — the Beijing/Shanghai/Guangdong FTZs plus Hainan pilot;
- Wholly foreign-owned hospitals — the nine-city pilot.
The report also calls for an orderly expansion of the digital domain and for compressing the cross-border services-trade negative list — the instrument that governs how foreign service suppliers serve China from offshore. “Build the national Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Services Opening” completes the services package. The message to investors is unambiguous: the next wave of opening is services, delivered through pilots and list compression.
Digital, Trade and the FTZ/Hainan Agenda
Beyond services, the report threads several opening instruments together:
- Digital and data. “Orderly expand digital opening” sits alongside the data-export negative-list exploration in FTZs — a nod to the cross-border-data rules that matter to telecom, biotech and finance operators.
- Trade and investment agreements. It commits to signing more regional and bilateral trade-and-investment agreements and to actively advancing the process of joining the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — the high-standard benchmarks against which services and digital rules are being stress-tested.
- FTZs and Hainan. It calls to optimise the layout of pilot free-trade zones, raise their innovation-leading capacity, and “solidly advance” Hainan Free Trade Port construction — the physical containers of the opening.
Two-Way Investment and the Encouraged Catalogue
On investment itself, the report’s instructions are operational:
- Deepen the FDI promotion system and safeguard national treatment for foreign firms.
- Implement the new Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment — the 2025 edition (effective 1 February 2026, 1,679 entries) that steers capital to advanced manufacturing, modern services and high-tech.
- Promote foreign reinvestment in China and expanded localised production — echoing the profit-reinvestment tax preferences and the “Invest in China” (投资中国) brand the State Council action plan later operationalises.
- Strengthen service guarantees for foreign firms and polish the “Invest in China” brand.
- Upgrade development zones and parks and guide “reasonable, orderly” cross-border layout of supply chains.
The through-line is that opening is not just about entry but about keeping foreign capital in, reinvesting, and localising.
The “Four New Business Opportunities”
At the State Council Information Office briefing interpreting the report, the head of the report’s drafting group, Shen Danyang, set out “four new business opportunities” for foreign investors:
- The super-scale market. China’s total retail sales of consumer goods surpassed 50 trillion yuan for the first time; foreign suppliers of quality goods have room to grow.
- Services development. Per-capita service-consumption expenditure reached 46.1% of total and is rising; the 2026 services-expansion-and-quality action opens market access and sectors.
- The innovation ecosystem. China’s complete, efficient supply chains are building new ecosystems around the digital economy and green growth; many foreign firms are adding R&D centres.
- Opening highlands. The FTZs, Hainan port and the services demonstration zone concentrate opening and incentives.
The framing is deliberate: it answers the “why invest in China now?” question with scale, services, innovation and zones — the same four themes the action plan later turns into measures.
Confidence and the Backdrop
The report’s optimism is buttressed by figures cited at the briefing: actual utilised foreign capital has exceeded 700 billion yuan for 16 consecutive years; in 2025, investment from Switzerland grew 66.8% and from the UK 15.9%, while e-commerce services grew 75%, medical devices 42.1% and aerospace 22.9%. Surveys cited by officials show over 90% of surveyed foreign firms will continue investing in China and nearly 70% of executives are confident about the next three to five years. The report reads these as evidence that, even amid global FDI softness, China remains a top destination — and the policy task is to defend that position.
| Signal in the report | What it means for entry |
|---|---|
| Services as opening focus | Target telecom, biotech, hospitals, digital |
| Compress cross-border services-trade negative list | Easier offshore service supply |
| Join DEPA / CPTPP | Rules converging to intl. standards |
| New Encouraged Catalogue | Incentives for advanced/high-tech |
| Reinvestment & localisation | Support to stay and grow |
What It Signals for Market Entry
The 2026 report tells a market entrant three things. First, the negative list will keep shrinking, but services — not manufacturing — is where the action is. Second, opening will be delivered through pilots and the encouraged catalogue as much as through list deletions, so zone choice and catalogue matching matter. Third, the policy bias is toward capital that reinvests, localises and brings technology — the “new quality productive forces” agenda — rather than capital that simply seeks market share. Investors who align with these biases will find the warmest reception.
Practical Takeaways
- Lead with services pilots. If your edge is telecom, biotech, healthcare or digital, build a pilot-zone strategy now.
- Match the encouraged catalogue. Confirm your lines sit in the 2025 catalogue for incentives.
- Plan to localise and reinvest. Signal a multi-year China commitment; it matches the policy preference.
- Watch DEPA/CPTPP alignment. Rules on data, procurement and IP are converging upward — build compliance early.
- Use the “Invest in China” platforms. The national brand and digital service platform are the front door the report is building.
The 2026 Government Work Report is, for foreign investors, less a detailed rulebook than a compass — and the compass points squarely at services, institutions, and long-term presence.
2026年政府工作报告外资表述：市场准入政策信号
报告背景
2026年政府工作报告于全国两会期间发布，是阐明年度经济与改革优先项、框定全年立法与监管议程的文件。在外资方面，2026年报告值得注意之处在于与十五五规划的连续性，以及明显的措辞倾斜：开放被定义为”自主开放”——按中国自身节奏推进——并是”制度型开放”，即对接国际高标准规则而非仅降关税。对市场进入者，报告是信号：它告诉你北京下一步将放宽哪些行业，以及哪些政策工具（负面清单缩减、试点区域、鼓励目录）将承载开放。
服务业作为开放重点
报告的外资表述置于”进一步扩大高水平对外开放”大节之内。最具体的市场准入承诺是以服务业为重点扩大市场准入和开放领域。三个服务业细分被明确点名为须进一步扩大的试点优先项：
- 增值电信——在已批90余家试点的基础上；
- 生物技术——北京／上海／广东自贸区及海南试点；
- 外商独资医院——9城试点。
报告还呼吁有序推进数字领域开放，并压减跨境服务贸易负面清单——该清单规范外国服务供应商从境外服务中国市场的规则。”建好国家服务业扩大开放综合示范区”补全服务业一揽子。对外资的信息明确：下一波开放在服务业，经试点与清单压缩落地。
数字、贸易与自贸区／海南议程
除服务业外，报告将若干开放工具串联：
- 数字与数据。 “有序推进数字领域开放”与自贸区数据出境负面清单探索并列——呼应对电信、生物技术、金融运营商至关重要的数据跨境规则。
- 贸易投资协定。 承诺商签更多区域与双边贸易投资协定，并积极推动加入《数字经济伙伴关系协定》（DEPA）与《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》（CPTPP）——服务业与数字规则正据此对标压力测试。
- 自贸区与海南。 优化自贸试验区布局范围、提升创新引领发展能级，并”扎实推进”海南自由贸易港建设——开放的物理容器。
双向投资与鼓励目录
就投资本身，报告指示具操作性：
- 深化外商投资促进体制机制改革，保障外资企业国民待遇。
- 实施新版《鼓励外商投资产业目录》——2025年版（2026年2月1日施行，1,679条），引导资金投向先进制造业、现代服务业、高新技术。
- 促进外资境内再投资、扩大本地化生产——呼应利润再投资税收优惠与国务院行动方案后续落地的”投资中国”品牌。
- 加强外资企业服务保障，擦亮”投资中国”名片。
- 规范提升各类开发区、园区，引导产业链供应链合理有序跨境布局。
贯穿线是：开放不仅关乎进入，更关乎留住外资、再投资与本地化。
“四个新的商机”
在解读报告的国新办吹风会上，报告起草组负责人沈丹阳为外资列出“四个新的商机”：
- 超大规模市场。 社会消费品零售总额首次突破50万亿元；优质商品供应商仍有增长空间。
- 服务业发展。 居民人均服务性消费支出占比达46.1%且仍在提升；2026年服务业扩能提质行动开放市场准入与行业。
- 创新生态。 中国完整高效供应链正围绕数字经济与绿色增长构建新生态；众多外资增设研发中心。
- 开放高地。 自贸区、海南自贸港、服务业示范区集聚开放与激励。
这一框架是刻意的：它以规模、服务业、创新、园区四个主题回应”此刻为何投资中国”，也正是行动方案后续转为举措的同一四主题。
信心与背景
报告的乐观有吹风会引用数据支撑：实际利用外资连续16年超7,000亿元；2025年瑞士投资增66.8%、英国增15.9%，电子商务服务增75%、医疗器械增42.1%、航空航天增22.9%。官员引用的调查显示，九成以上受访外企将继续在华投资，近七成高管对未来3—5年有信心。报告将这些视为证据：即便全球 FDI 趋软，中国仍是头号目的地——政策任务是守住这一地位。
| 报告中的信号 | 对准入的含义 |
|---|---|
| 服务业为开放重点 | 瞄准电信、生物技术、医院、数字 |
| 压减跨境服务贸易负面清单 | 境外服务供应更易 |
| 加入DEPA／CPTPP | 规则向国际对标 |
| 新版鼓励目录 | 先进／高新技术激励 |
| 再投资与本地化 | 支持驻留与成长 |
对市场准入的信号
2026年报告向市场进入者传达三点。其一，负面清单将持续缩减，但服务业而非制造业是重心。其二，开放将通过试点与鼓励目录，与清单删除同等重要地落地，故区域选择与目录匹配关键。其三，政策偏向再投资、本地化、带技术的资本——”新质生产力”议程——而非仅逐份额的资本。顺应这些偏向者将获最暖接待。
实操要点
- 以服务业试点为先。 若优势在电信、生物技术、医疗或数字，立即构建试点区域战略。
- 匹配鼓励目录。 确认你的产品线落在2025年版目录以享激励。
- 规划本地化与再投资。 释放对华多年承诺信号；这契合政策偏好。
- 关注DEPA／CPTPP对接。 数据、采购、IP 规则正向上对标——尽早构建合规。
- 运用”投资中国”平台。 国家品牌与数字服务平台是报告正在打造的正门。
2026年政府工作报告对外资，与其说是详细规则手册，不如说是指南针——而指针明确指向服务业、制度型开放与长期驻留。
Sources
- 国务院 (State Council) — 《政府工作报告》（2026年3月），”进一步扩大高水平对外开放”章节
- 国务院 (State Council) — 国新办解读《政府工作报告》吹风会（2026年3月5日），”四个新的商机”与外资数据
- 国家发展和改革委员会 (NDRC) — 《鼓励外商投资产业目录（2025年版）》（第37号令，2026年2月1日施行）
- 商务部 (MOFCOM) — 积极推动加入DEPA、CPTPP进程及”投资中国”品牌建设相关表述