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Negative List / 负面清单

China’s Unified Market Access Negative List System and Foreign Investment: The 2025 Edition, Barrier Clean-up, and the Shift from Manufacturing to Services

  • China’s unified market-access negative list was cut to 106 items in the 2025 edition, down from 117 in 2022, extending the “national single list” model and enforcing the “non-prohibited-is-open” principle.
    2025年版市场准入负面清单由2022年版117项缩减至106项，全国统一清单模式持续拓宽，”非禁即入”原则刚性落地。
  • The 2025 version deletes or relaxes measures across seal-engraving, TV-production setup, and online pharmaceutical/medical-device information services, while adding statutory emerging-sector items such as drone operations and e-cigarettes.
    2025版直接删除或放开公章刻制、电视剧制作单位设立、药品医疗器械互联网信息服务等一批措施，并依法纳入无人机运营、电子烟等新业态准入事项。
  • Foreign investors remain subject to the separate Foreign Investment Access Negative List; as of 2026 the manufacturing sector’s restrictions are fully zeroed at 29 national items, with services the next opening front.
    外资仍适用单独的外商投资准入负面清单；截至2026年制造业限制已全面清零、全国版保留29条，服务业成为下一阶段开放重点。
  • A market-access barrier clean-up campaign is running, publicising typical cases and using a closed-loop rectification mechanism to remove “glass doors” and “revolving doors” outside the list.
    市场准入壁垒清理整治行动已启动，通过公开通报典型案例与核实整改闭环机制，破除清单之外的”玻璃门””弹簧门””旋转门”。
  • The 2026 “Stabilise and Improve Foreign Investment” action plan anchors the post-access phase: solving “access granted but operation blocked” through services opening and national treatment.
    2026年《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》聚焦”准入后准营”，以服务业开放与国民待遇破解”大门开、小门不开”。
  • Practical step: map the target sector against both the market-access and the foreign-investment negative lists, and use pilot zones plus the one-stop service window for licensing.
    实操建议：将目标行业同时对照市场准入负面清单与外资准入负面清单，并借助试点区域与一站式服务专窗办理许可。

China’s Unified Market Access Negative List System and Foreign Investment: The 2025 Edition, Barrier Clean-up, and the Shift from Manufacturing to Services | 全国统一市场准入负面清单制度与外资准入：2025版清单、准入壁垒清理与制造业清零后的服务业开放

China’s market-access governance rests on two parallel but distinct negative lists: the Market Access Negative List (市场准入负面清单), which binds every business form equally inside China, and the Foreign Investment Access Negative List (外商投资准入负面清单), which adds a layer of sector restrictions specific to foreign capital. For a foreign investor, understanding both is the first step to a compliant market entry. The 2025 edition of the market-access list and the 2026 foreign-investment posture together define the current opening trajectory.

The 2025 Market Access Negative List

In April 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly released the *Market Access Negative List (2025 Edition)*. The item count fell from 117 in the 2022 edition to 106, with national sub-measures reduced from 486 to 469 and local measures from 36 to 20. The revision follows four improvements: a strengthened “national single list” authority, clearer implementation rules for licensed items, better alignment with other access regimes, and more standardised, convenient access.

Concrete relaxations include moving seal-engraving from a licence to a filing, reforming the sale of computer-information-security products into standards-based certification, and removing licences for TV-production-unit setup, pharmaceutical and medical-device internet information services, and the trial operation of certain telecom services. At the same time, the list brings in new-economy items under statutory authority — drone-operation certificates (except micro drones) under the *Unmanned Aircraft Operation Administration Regulation*, and e-cigarette production, wholesale and retail approvals under the *Tobacco Monopoly Law*.

Foreign investment access after manufacturing zeroing

The foreign-investment negative list has been compressed to 29 national items. Critically, all manufacturing-sector access restrictions have been zeroed — the first industry to achieve full liberalisation. At a March 2026 State Council policy briefing, NDRC confirmed the list now stands at 29 items nationally and 27 in pilot free-trade zones, with the next phase focused on services: telecom, internet, education, culture and healthcare will be opened “orderly”. The 2026 *Stabilise and Improve Foreign Investment Action Plan* (MOFCOM, NDRC, Ministry of Finance; 商资发〔2026〕97号) frames the task as moving from “access” to “operation” — fixing the “big door open, small door closed” problem through services opening and national treatment.

Barrier clean-up campaign

A core message of the 2025 list is that items outside the list must be genuinely open. To that end, NDRC, MOFCOM and SAMR launched a market-access barrier clean-up, publicly notifying typical cases (seven batches, 115 cases to date) and building a clue-collection, verification, rectification and disclosure loop. The campaign targets local rules and practices that unlawfully add access conditions or erect “glass doors” and “revolving doors”. For foreign investors, this means a provincial measure that quietly blocks a listed-open sector can be reported and corrected.

Practical steps for foreign investors

  1. Screen both lists. Confirm the sector is outside — or acceptably inside — both the market-access and the foreign-investment negative lists before committing capital.
  2. Use the pilot pathway. Telecom, medical and education openings are proceeding via designated pilot zones; apply there rather than assuming nationwide access.
  3. Engage the one-stop window. Provincial investment-service desks and the “Invest in China” digital platform consolidate licensing, consultation and feedback.
  4. Watch the barrier clean-up. If a local rule impedes an otherwise-open sector, use the disclosure channel; the campaign is designed to remove it.
  5. Plan for operation, not just access. Post-entry, align with data-security, Anti-Monopoly and tax obligations early.

全国统一市场准入负面清单制度与外资准入：2025版清单、准入壁垒清理与制造业清零后的服务业开放

中国的市场准入治理建立在两张并行却又不同的负面清单之上：对境内各类经营主体一体适用的市场准入负面清单，以及针对外资额外叠加行业限制的外商投资准入负面清单。对外资而言，同时读懂两张清单是合规进入市场的第一步。2025年版市场准入清单与2026年外资准入姿态，共同定义了当前的开放路径。

2025年版市场准入负面清单

2025年4月，国家发展改革委、商务部、市场监管总局联合发布《市场准入负面清单（2025年版）》。清单事项由2022年版的117项缩减至106项，全国性具体管理措施由486条减至469条，地方性措施由36条减至20条。本次修订围绕”四个完善”展开：强化”全国一张清单”权威、明确许可准入事项的实施要求、完善与其他准入规定的衔接、提升规范化便利化水平。

具体的放宽包括：公章刻制业由许可改为备案，计算机信息系统安全专用产品销售改为基于强制性国家标准的检测认证，取消电视剧制作单位设立、药品和医疗器械互联网信息服务、试办新型电信业务等管理措施。与此同时，清单依据法定授权纳入新业态事项——依《无人驾驶航空器运营管理条例》将民用无人驾驶航空器运营合格证核发纳入，依《烟草专卖法实施条例》将电子烟等新型烟草制品生产、批发、零售审批纳入。

制造业清零后的外资准入

外商投资准入负面清单已压缩至全国版29条。关键突破在于制造业领域准入限制全面”清零”——成为首个实现全面开放的产业。在2026年3月的国务院政策吹风会上，国家发展改革委确认全国版保留29项、自贸试验区版27项，下一阶段以服务业为重点，推动电信、互联网、教育、文化、医疗等领域”有序扩大开放”。2026年《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》（商务部、国家发展改革委、财政部，商资发〔2026〕97号）将任务定位于从”准入”转向”准营”——以服务业开放与国民待遇破解”大门开、小门不开”的具体问题。

准入壁垒清理整治

2025版清单的核心信号是：清单之外必须真放开。为此，国家发展改革委、商务部、市场监管总局联合开展市场准入壁垒清理整治行动，已向社会公开通报7期115个违背清单的典型案例，并建立线索归集、核实整改、案例通报的闭环机制。行动剑指违规增设准入条件、设立”玻璃门””弹簧门””旋转门”的地方性规定与做法。对外资而言，这意味着某省份悄悄阻断本已开放行业的做法，可以被举报并纠正。

外资实操步骤

  1. 双清单筛查。 在投入资本前，确认目标行业同时处于市场准入负面清单与外资准入负面清单的”之外”或”可承受之内”。
  2. 走试点路径。 电信、医疗、教育等开放正通过指定试点区域推进，应在试点区内申请，而非假设全国放开。
  3. 对接一站式窗口。 省级投资服务专窗与”投资中国”数字综合服务平台整合了许可、咨询与反馈功能。
  4. 关注壁垒清理。 若地方规定阻碍本已开放的行业，可走披露渠道；行动的设计目的就是清除此类障碍。
  5. 既谋准入也谋准营。 进入后尽早对齐数据安全、反垄断与税务义务。

Practitioner Quick Reference

  • Two lists, not one: the market-access negative list binds every entity; the foreign-investment negative list adds foreign-capital sector limits on top.
    两张清单而非一张：市场准入负面清单约束所有主体；外资准入负面清单在其上额外叠加外资行业限制。
  • 2025 edition = 106 items: down from 117 in 2022; study the deleted and relaxed measures for fresh openings.
    2025版=106项：较2022版117项缩减；研究被删除与放开的措施以发现新开放。
  • Manufacturing zeroed, services next: 29 national items remain, concentrated in services (telecom, medical, education, culture).
    制造业清零、服务业接棒：全国版保留29项，集中在服务业（电信、医疗、教育、文化）。
  • Barrier clean-up is live: report local “glass doors” through the disclosure channel; typical cases are publicised.
    壁垒清理已启动：经披露渠道举报地方”玻璃门”；典型案例公开通报。
  • Use the window: provincial investment desks and the “Invest in China” portal consolidate licensing and consultation.
    善用窗口：省级投资专窗与”投资中国”门户整合许可与咨询。

Common Pitfalls

  • Assuming nationwide access: pilot-zone openings (telecom, medical, education) are not automatic national licences.
    误以为全国放开：试点区域开放（电信、医疗、教育）并非自动生效的全国牌照。
  • Ignoring the clean-up campaign: a local rule blocking an otherwise-open sector is challengeable, not final.
    忽视清理行动：地方规定阻碍本已开放的行业是可被纠正的，并非终局。
  • Confusing the two lists: screening only one of them risks missing a foreign-capital-specific restriction.
    混淆两张清单：只筛查其中一张，可能漏掉外资专项限制。

Sources

Negative List / 负面清单

China’s 2026 Services Opening: Telecom, Finance, Healthcare and Education Pilots

  • Services now account for about 70% of actual utilised foreign capital, making the services sector the main battleground for 2026 opening.
    服务业现已占实际使用外资约七成，成为2026年开放的主战场。
  • Value-added telecom pilots had approved 90-plus foreign-invested firms by end-2025, with foreign equity above the standard 50% cap in qualifying cases.
    增值电信试点截至2025年底已批准90多家外资企业，符合条件者外资股比可高于标准50%上限。
  • Wholly foreign-owned hospital pilots span nine cities, and the first such hospital opened in Tianjin in February 2025.
    外商独资医院试点横跨9城，首家于2025年2月在天津开诊。
  • Finance opening deepens: foreign institutions may use treasury futures and fund-advisory businesses, and qualified firms get domestic-listing and cross-border financing support.
    金融开放深化：外资机构可使用国债期货与基金投资顾问业务，合格企业获境内上市与跨境融资支持。
  • Biotech pilots cover the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong FTZs plus Hainan, with 100-plus foreign firms already in scope by end-2025.
    生物技术试点覆盖北京、上海、广东自贸区及海南，至2025年底已有百余家外资企业纳入范围。
  • Education opening expands to vocational training, vocational schools and selected science, technology, agriculture and medical universities.
    教育开放扩展至职业培训、职业院校及部分理工农医类高校。
  • Beijing’s Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Services Opening and the cross-border services-trade negative list are the institutional backbone.
    北京服务业扩大开放综合示范区与跨境服务贸易负面清单是制度骨架。

China’s 2026 Services Opening: Telecom, Finance, Healthcare and Education Pilots | 中国2026年服务业开放：电信、金融、医疗与教育的试点突破

Why Services Are the 2026 Priority

With manufacturing access fully “zeroed out,” the frontier of China’s foreign-investment opening has moved decisively to services. The arithmetic explains why. In the first five months of 2026, services absorbed 234.15 billion yuan of actual utilised foreign capital — roughly 70% of the 327.29 billion yuan total — while manufacturing took 86.97 billion. As MOFCOM’s foreign-investment department put it, services are “the main field for expanding opening and attracting foreign capital.” The 2026 Government Work Report accordingly names services as the focus of market-access expansion, and the 15th Five-Year Plan commits to “orderly” opening of telecom, internet, education, culture and healthcare. Services are also where the national negative list still binds hardest, so opening there is delivered through pilots and incremental reform rather than a single deletion.

Telecom: Value-Added Opening

Telecom is the clearest services win for foreign investors. Although basic telecom services remain Chinese-controlled and value-added telecom is generally capped at 50% foreign equity, the 2024–2025 pilot programme has opened real space. By the end of 2025, more than 90 foreign-invested enterprises had been approved for value-added-telecom pilot licences, many inside free-trade zones, covering cloud computing, internet data services and related activities where foreign equity above the standard cap is permitted in qualifying cases. The 2026 Action Plan for Stabilizing and Optimizing Foreign Investment reaffirms “steadily implementing” the value-added-telecom pilot and narrowing the gap between “access and operating permission.” For cloud, data-centre and CDN players, the pilot route is now a genuine, if still scoped, entry path.

Healthcare: Hospitals and Biotech

Healthcare is the most visible services opening. Two pilot tracks run in parallel:

  • Wholly foreign-owned hospitals. The pilot spans nine locations — Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangdong, Shenzhen and Hainan island. The first such hospital, Tianjin鹏瑞利 (a Singapore-invested tertiary general hospital), opened in February 2025 with about 1 billion yuan of investment; a rehabilitation hospital in Guangzhou and another in Hainan followed. The 2026 Action Plan commits to “study expanding” the pilot’s geographic scope.
  • Biotechnology. Pilot scope covers the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong FTZs plus the Hainan Free Trade Port. By end-2025, over 100 foreign firms had brought piloted biotech business within their scope. The Action Plan promises to research expanding both biotech and hospital pilot regions, and to issue rules on cross-border segmented drug production (药品分段生产) to let overseas marketing-authorisation holders manufacture biologics and chemicals across borders.

Together these measures begin to open a sector long closed to foreign control.

Finance: Deeper Access

Financial services opening is advancing on several fronts under the 2026 Action Plan. Foreign institutions are supported to use risk-management tools including treasury futures to manage financial risk, and to conduct fund-investment-advisory business in accordance with law. For qualified key foreign firms, the plan provides a cross-border financing facilitation quota and “customer-billed” international settlement document services through domestic banks. Critically for exit and funding, it optimises pre-communication before exchange listing applications and supports qualified key foreign enterprises in raising capital on domestic exchanges. These steps do not rewrite the negative list but ease the operating environment for foreign financial and foreign-invested operating companies alike.

Education: Cautious Opening

Education remains the most controlled services area, but the 2026 Action Plan nudges it open. It proposes steadily expanding pilot openings for vocational training institutions, vocational schools, and high-level universities in science, technology, agriculture and medicine. This is deliberately narrow — compulsory and general higher education stay in Chinese-foreign cooperative, Chinese-led forms — but it creates a licit lane for foreign vocational, technical and specialised-institution investment, especially where it serves advanced manufacturing and the “new quality productive forces” agenda.

The Institutional Backbone

Two structures carry the services opening:

  1. Beijing’s Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Services Opening. The 2026 Action Plan explicitly supports Beijing in upgrading this zone to trial first moves in digital economy and health-care and other modern services.
  2. The cross-border services-trade negative list. Both the Government Work Report and the Action Plan commit to compressing this list, which governs how foreign service suppliers can serve the China market cross-border. Narrowing it is the structural counterpart to the inbound pilots.

Alongside these, the national services-trade innovation demonstration zones and digital-trade demonstration zones named in the 15th FYP provide platforms that share the opening dividend with foreign firms.

Pilot / instrumentScope (2026)Investor relevance
Value-added telecom90+ firms approved by end-2025Cloud, data, CDN
Wholly foreign-owned hospitals9 citiesHealthcare operators
BiotechBeijing/Shanghai/Guangdong FTZs + HainanPharma, biologics
Finance toolsNationwide (Action Plan)FIs and operating cos.
Education pilotsVocational / STEM-agri-medTraining, specialised schools
Cross-border services-trade negative listTo be compressedAll cross-border service suppliers

What Investors Should Watch

  • Geographic scope expansions. The Action Plan repeatedly promises to “study expanding” the hospital and biotech pilot regions — watch for new cities added in 2026–2027.
  • From pilot to national. Successful pilots (value-added telecom especially) tend to be generalised; position to scale.
  • Data-cross-border rules. FTZs are exploring scenario-based, field-level data-export negative lists; these affect telecom, biotech and health operators directly.
  • Operating permission, not access. As in manufacturing, the live constraint is the licence and standards path, not equity.

For service-sector investors, 2026 is less about a shorter negative list and more about a widening set of pilots — the real, if still bounded, opening.

中国2026年服务业开放：电信、金融、医疗与教育的试点突破

为何服务业是2026年重点

随着制造业准入全面”清零”，中国外资开放的前沿已决定性转向服务业。数据说明原因：2026年前5个月，服务业吸收实际使用外资2,341.5亿元，约占总计3,272.9亿元的七成，而制造业为869.7亿元。正如商务部外资司所言，服务业是”扩大开放、吸引外资的主要领域”。2026年《政府工作报告》因此将服务业列为市场准入扩大的重点，十五五规划承诺对电信、互联网、教育、文化、医疗”有序”开放。服务业也是全国版负面清单束缚最紧之处，故其开放通过试点与渐进改革实现，而非一次性删除条目。

电信：增值业务开放

电信是外资最清晰的服务业利好。尽管基础电信仍须中方控股、增值电信一般限外资50%股比，2024—2025年试点已开真实空间。截至2025年底，90多家外资企业获批增值电信业务试点牌照，多位于自贸区，涵盖云计算、互联网数据服务等符合条件者外资股比可高于标准上限的活动。2026年《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》重申”稳妥实施”增值电信试点，缩小”准入与准营”落差。对云、数据中心、CDN 玩家，试点路径已是真实（虽仍受限）的准入通道。

医疗：医院与生物技术

医疗是最显眼的服务业开放，两条试点并行：

  • 外商独资医院。 试点横跨9地——北京、上海、天津、南京、苏州、福州、广东、深圳及海南全岛。首家此类医院天津鹏瑞利（新加坡投资的三级综合医院）于2025年2月开诊，投资约10亿元；广州康复医院与海南医院相继落地。2026年行动方案承诺”抓紧研究报批进一步扩大”试点地域范围。
  • 生物技术。 试点范围覆盖北京、上海、广东自贸区及海南自由贸易港。至2025年底，百余家外资企业已将试点生物技术业务纳入经营范围。行动方案承诺研究扩大生物技术与医院试点区域，并出台药品分段生产细则，便利境外上市许可持有人开展生物制品、化学药跨境分段生产。

两项并举，开始开放这一长期禁止外资控股的领域。

金融：更深层次准入

金融服务开放在2026年行动方案下多线推进。支持更多外资机构使用包括国债期货在内的风险管理工具，依法开展基金投资顾问业务。对符合条件的重点外资企业，方案提供跨境融资便利化额度，并通过境内银行提供”代客制单”国际结算单证服务。对退出与融资至为关键的是，方案优化交易所上市申报前预沟通，支持符合条件的重点外资企业在境内上市融资。这些举措不改负面清单，却为外资金融机构与外资运营企业改善了经营环境。

教育：谨慎开放

教育仍是最受控的服务业领域，但2026年行动方案谨慎推门。方案提出稳步扩大职业技能培训机构、职业院校、高水平理工农医类大学对外开放试点。这一开放刻意收窄——义务教育与一般高等教育仍限于中外合作、中方主导——但为外国职业、技术与专门机构投资开辟了合法通道，尤其服务于先进制造业与”新质生产力”议程。

制度骨架

两项结构承载服务业开放：

  1. 北京服务业扩大开放综合示范区。 2026年行动方案明确支持北京提升该示范区水平，在数字经济、医药健康等现代服务业重点领域先行先试。
  2. 跨境服务贸易负面清单。 《政府工作报告》与行动方案均承诺压缩该清单，它规范外国服务供应商如何跨境服务中国市场。压缩它是与境内试点对应的结构性举措。

此外，十五五规划提出的国家服务贸易创新发展示范区、国家数字贸易示范区等平台，与外资共享开放红利。

试点／工具2026范围投资者相关性
增值电信2025年底已批90余家云、数据、CDN
外商独资医院9城医疗运营商
生物技术北京／上海／广东自贸区＋海南医药、生物制品
金融工具全国（行动方案）金融机构与运营企业
教育试点职业／理工农医培训、专门学校
跨境服务贸易负面清单待压缩所有跨境服务供应商

投资者应关注

  • 地域扩容。 行动方案多次承诺”研究扩大”医院与生物技术试点区域——关注2026—2027年新增城市。
  • 从试点到全国。 成功试点（尤其增值电信）往往被普遍化；提前布局以规模化。
  • 数据跨境规则。 自贸区正探索场景化、字段级数据出境负面清单；直接影响电信、生物技术、医疗运营商。
  • 准营而非准入。 与制造业同，实际约束是许可与标准路径，而非股权。

对服务业投资者，2026年要义不在更短的负面清单，而在不断拓宽的试点集——真实却仍受界的开放。

Sources

Negative List / 负面清单

China’s 2026 Manufacturing Liberalization: Full Market Access for Foreign Investors

  • Every manufacturing sub-sector is open to foreign investors at 100% ownership in 2026, after the 2024 list removed the last two restrictions.
    2026年制造业所有细分领域均向外开开放、可100%持股，2024年版清单删除了最后两项限制。
  • The 2024 revision deleted the publication-printing Chinese-control rule and the traditional-Chinese-medicine secret-formula production ban.
    2024年修订删除了出版物印刷须中方控股的规定，以及中成药保密处方产品生产禁令。
  • With “access” solved, Beijing’s policy focus has shifted to “operating permission” — closing the “big door open, small door closed” gap.
    “准入”问题解决后，政策重心转向”准营”——消除”大门开、小门不开”的落差。
  • Foreign manufacturing investment remains substantial: the sector drew 86.97 billion yuan of actual FDI in the first five months of 2026.
    制造业外资仍可观：2026年前5个月制造业实际使用外资869.7亿元。
  • High-tech manufacturing is the growth engine, with electronic and communications equipment FDI up 18.2% and computer/office-equipment FDI up 29.7% year-on-year in early 2026.
    高技术制造业是增长引擎，2026年初电子及通信设备制造外资增18.2%、计算机及办公设备制造增29.7%。
  • Post-access hurdles — product registration, standards, GMP, licensing — now matter more than equity caps for manufacturers.
    准入后壁垒——产品注册、标准、GMP、许可——对制造商而言已比股比上限更重要。
  • The 2025 Encouraged Catalogue (1,679 entries) steers foreign manufacturers toward advanced and green manufacturing with incentives.
    2025年版鼓励目录（1,679条）以激励引导外资制造商投向先进与绿色制造。

China’s 2026 Manufacturing Liberalization: Full Market Access for Foreign Investors | 中国2026年制造业全面放开：外资准入全面解禁

From Restricted to Fully Open

Manufacturing is the field where China’s foreign-investment opening is most complete. Over little more than a decade, the negative list moved from capping foreign equity across wide swaths of industry to removing every manufacturing restriction. The decisive step came with the *Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2024 Edition)* (NDRC & MOFCOM Order No. 23, effective 1 November 2024), which cut the national list to 29 items and deleted the final two manufacturing limitations. As NDRC officials stated in March 2026, “manufacturing access restrictions have been fully zeroed out.” For a foreign manufacturer, the question of whether it may own 100% of a Chinese plant is, in principle, settled: the answer is yes, across automobiles, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals, and machinery alike.

What the 2024 List Actually Removed

The two manufacturing items deleted in 2024 were specific but symbolic:

  1. Publication printing. The long-standing requirement that publication printing be controlled by the Chinese party was removed, ending a restriction that had sat on the list since the early reform era.
  2. Traditional Chinese medicine. A prohibition on the application of certain TCM processing techniques (steaming, stir-frying, calcining, roasting) and on the production of pharmaceuticals based on confidential formulae was lifted.

Their removal brought the national list from 31 to 29 items and, more importantly, emptied the manufacturing column entirely. Earlier tranches had already opened automaking — the phased removal of the 50% passenger-vehicle joint-venture cap was completed at the end of 2022 — and had relaxed limits on rail equipment, mining, and shipbuilding. By 2026, no manufacturing sub-sector carries a mandated Chinese partner or foreign-equity ceiling.

The “Big Door Open, Small Door Closed” Problem

Opening the access door, however, is not the same as being able to operate. Chinese officials now openly describe a “big door open, small door closed” (大门开、小门不开) problem: the equity barrier is gone, but operating permissions — licences, product registrations, technical standards, and certification — can still delay or block a foreign manufacturer from actually selling. MOFCOM and NDRC have made clear that the 2026 priority is to move from 准入 (access) to 准营 (operating permission), ensuring that once a manufacturer is admitted it can genuinely do business. This reframing matters for advisors: the diligence that once centred on equity structure must now centre on the permitting and certification pathway.

The 2026 Investment Picture

The data show manufacturing remains a major destination for foreign capital even after full liberalisation. According to MOFCOM, in the first five months of 2026 China recorded 25,297 newly established foreign-invested enterprises (up 5.3% year-on-year) and actual utilised foreign capital of 327.29 billion yuan. Of that, manufacturing absorbed 86.97 billion yuan. The structure is shifting toward higher value:

Indicator (Jan–May 2026)Value / change
New FIEs established25,297 (+5.3% yoy)
Actual utilised FDI (total)327.29 billion yuan (−8.6% yoy)
Manufacturing actual FDI86.97 billion yuan
High-tech industry actual FDI130.14 billion yuan (+19.4% yoy, 39.8% of total)
Electronic & communications equipment mfg FDI+18.2% yoy
Computer & office equipment mfg FDI+29.7% yoy
R&D and design services FDI+96.2% yoy

The high-tech share — nearly 40% of all utilised FDI — and the double-digit growth in advanced manufacturing confirm that liberalisation is channeling foreign money into exactly the segments Beijing wants to deepen.

Where the Growth Is: High-Tech Manufacturing

The strongest momentum is in technology-intensive manufacturing. Electronic and communications equipment manufacturing drew 18.2% more foreign capital year-on-year in early 2026, and computer and office equipment manufacturing grew 29.7%. These are precisely the sectors where the encouraged catalogue (see below) offers the richest incentives and where China’s complete supply chains give foreign investors a reason to localise rather than export. Semiconductors, new-energy vehicles, high-end medical devices, and advanced materials all sit in this zone — fully open on the negative list and actively courted through the encouraged catalogue and local investment-promotion packages.

Operating Permission, Not Access, Is the New Bottleneck

For a manufacturer entering China in 2026, the binding constraints are almost never equity. They are:

  • Product registration. Drugs and medical devices must be registered with the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA); food and cosmetics face similar registration or filing.
  • Standards and certification. China Compulsory Certification (CCC) and a widening set of national and industry standards apply; conformity assessment can be lengthy.
  • Environmental and safety permitting. Manufacturing sites need environmental-impact approvals and safety production licences.
  • Data and cross-border flows. Where a plant’s operations touch important data, the cross-border data rules introduced in recent years add a compliance layer.

A market-entry plan should map each of these early, because they — not the negative list — determine time-to-market.

Practical Guidance for Manufacturers

  1. Assume 100% ownership is available. Structure as a WFOE unless non-manufacturing ancillary activities pull you into a restricted sector.
  2. Screen ancillary services. A manufacturing WFOE that also wants to distribute, do R&D, or run a testing lab should check whether those add-on activities hit the services restrictions still on the list.
  3. Check the encouraged catalogue. The 2025 edition (effective 1 February 2026, 1,679 entries) lists advanced and green manufacturing for tariff, land, and tax incentives — confirm your product lines qualify.
  4. Build the permitting timeline first. Model NMPA/CCC/environmental approvals before committing a launch date.
  5. Use the FTZ pre-check. Inside an FTZ, the access pre-check system surfaces hidden licence needs early.
  6. Plan localisation. With supply chains complete and incentives available, a localised footprint often beats an import-only model.

Manufacturing is, in 2026, the easiest manufacturing-sector entry China has ever offered a foreign investor — provided the entrant plans for operating permission, not just ownership.

中国2026年制造业全面放开：外资准入全面解禁

从受限到全面开放

制造业是中国外资开放最彻底的领域。在十余年间，负面清单从对工业广泛领域设股比上限，走向取消每一项制造业限制。决定性一步来自《外商投资准入特别管理措施（负面清单）（2024年版）》（国家发展改革委、商务部第23号令，2024年11月1日施行），它将全国版清单减至29条，删除最后两项制造业限制。正如国家发展改革委2026年3月所言，”制造业领域外资准入限制全面清零”。对外国制造商而言，能否100%持有中国工厂的问题原则上已解决：汽车、半导体、医药、食品、化工、机械皆然。

2024年版究竟删除了什么

2024年删除的两项制造业条目虽具体却具象征意义：

  1. 出版物印刷。 长期存在的”出版物印刷须由中方控股”要求被取消，结束了自改革初期即列于清单的限制。
  2. 中药。 禁止投资中药饮片蒸、炒、炙、煅等炮制技术应用及中成药保密处方产品生产的禁令被解除。

两项删除使全国版由31条降至29条，更重要的是将制造业栏目彻底清空。此前的批次已开放汽车制造——乘用车合资股比50%上限的渐进取消于2022年底完成——并放宽了轨道交通设备、采矿、船舶制造的限制。至2026年，无任何制造业细分领域强制要求中国伙伴或设外资股比上限。

“大门开、小门不开”问题

然而，打开准入之门不等于能够经营。中国官员现公然描述”大门开、小门不开”问题：股权壁垒已去，但经营许可证、产品注册、技术标准与认证仍可能拖延或阻止外国制造商实际销售。商务部与国家发展改革委已明确，2026年重心是从”准入”转向”准营”，确保制造商准入后真正能开展业务。这一重构对顾问至关重要：曾经围绕股权结构的尽职调查，如今须围绕许可与认证路径展开。

2026年投资图景

数据显示，全面放开后制造业仍是外资重要目的地。据商务部，2026年前5个月全国新设外商投资企业25,297家（同比+5.3%），实际使用外资3,272.9亿元；其中制造业吸收869.7亿元。结构向高价值迁移：

指标（2026年1—5月）数值／变化
新设外资企业25,297家（同比+5.3%）
实际使用外资（合计）3,272.9亿元（同比−8.6%）
制造业实际使用外资869.7亿元
高技术产业实际使用外资1,301.4亿元（同比+19.4%，占总额39.8%）
电子及通信设备制造外资同比+18.2%
计算机及办公设备制造外资同比+29.7%
研发与设计服务外资同比+96.2%

高技术占比接近四成，先进制造业双位数增长，印证开放正将外资引入北京希望深化的细分领域。

增长所在：高技术制造业

最强动能来自技术密集型制造。2026年初电子及通信设备制造外资同比增18.2%，计算机及办公设备制造增29.7%。这些正是鼓励目录（见下）激励最丰、且中国完整供应链令外资倾向本地化而非出口的领域。半导体、新能源汽车、高端医疗器械、先进材料均处此区——负面清单上完全开放，又通过鼓励目录与地方招商包积极争取。

准营而非准入成为新瓶颈

对2026年进入中国的制造商，约束几乎从不是股权，而是：

  • 产品注册。 药品与医疗器械须向国家药品监督管理局（NMPA）注册；食品、化妆品亦有注册或备案。
  • 标准与认证。 中国强制性产品认证（CCC）及日益增多的国标、行标适用；符合性评估可能漫长。
  • 环保与安全许可。 制造场所需环评批复与安全生产许可证。
  • 数据与跨境流动。 运营触及重要数据时，近年出台的数据跨境规则新增合规层。

市场准入计划应尽早梳理上述每一项，因为它们——而非负面清单——决定上市时间。

给制造商的实操指引

  1. 默认可100%持股。 除非非制造附属活动将你拉入受限行业，否则设为外商独资企业。
  2. 筛查附属服务。 制造型 WFOE 若兼营分销、研发或检测实验室，须查这些附加活动是否触及清单上仍受限的服务业。
  3. 核对鼓励目录。 2025年版（2026年2月1日施行，1,679条）列明先进与绿色制造，享关税、用地、税收优惠——确认你的产品线符合。
  4. 先建许可时间表。 在锁定上市日期前，先建模 NMPA／CCC／环评审批。
  5. 利用自贸区预检。 区内准入预检系统可尽早暴露隐性许可需求。
  6. 规划本地化。 供应链完整且激励可用，本地化布局往往优于纯进口模式。

2026年，制造业是历史上中国向外开投资者提供的最易进入的制造领域——前提是进入者规划的是”准营”，而不仅是”持股”。

Sources

Negative List / 负面清单

China’s 2026 Free Trade Zone Negative List: Pilot Openings and Regional Advantages

  • The FTZ negative list stands at 27 items in 2026, two fewer than the 29-item national list, giving pilot zones a wider opening.
    2026年自贸试验区负面清单为27条，比29条全国版少2条，使试点区域开放更宽。
  • Free-trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port serve as the “testing ground” where opening measures are tried before any national rollout.
    自由贸易试验区与海南自由贸易港充当”试验田”，开放举措先在此试行再向全国推广。
  • Hainan launched full-island customs closure operations at the end of 2025, marking a new stage in its free-trade-port build-out.
    海南于2025年底启动全岛封关运作，标志自贸港建设进入新阶段。
  • The 15th Five-Year Plan commits to an FTZ upgrade strategy, expanding first-of-their-kind trials in the digital economy, innovation and offshore trade.
    十五五规划提出实施自贸试验区提升战略，围绕数字经济、科技创新、离岸贸易扩大首创首试。
  • Sector-specific pilots inside FTZs — value-added telecom, biotech, wholly foreign-owned hospitals — are the practical face of “opening beyond the list.”
    自贸区内行业试点——增值电信、生物技术、外商独资医院——是”清单之外开放”的实际体现。
  • Investors should map their sector to the right FTZ, because pilot scope and supporting rules differ by zone and by city.
    投资者应将自身行业对应到合适的自贸区，因试点范围与配套规则因区、因城而异。

China’s 2026 Free Trade Zone Negative List: Pilot Openings and Regional Advantages | 中国2026年自贸试验区负面清单：试点开放与区域优势

Why Free-Trade Zones Get Their Own List

China does not apply a single uniform screen to foreign investment. On top of the nationwide negative list, a separate — and shorter — negative list applies inside the pilot free-trade zones (FTZs). The logic is deliberate: the FTZs are sandboxes where the state trials liberalisation that is not yet ready for national application. A foreign investor locating inside an FTZ may therefore face fewer ownership caps than the same investor would outside the zone, provided the activity falls within the FTZ list’s narrower restrictions. For a market entrant, choosing the right zone can be as consequential as choosing the right sector.

The 2026 FTZ List: 27 Items

As confirmed by the State Council Information Office in June 2026, the foreign investment access negative list stands at 29 items nationwide and 27 items for the pilot free-trade zones. The two-item gap is the structural expression of “opening the door wider” inside the zones. Historically, the FTZ list has lifted a further subset of restrictions relative to the national list — concentrating the extra opening in services and selected secondary industries — and then, once a measure is proven, folding it into the national list at the next revision. The 2024 national revision that “zeroed out” manufacturing followed exactly this path: several manufacturing caps were first relaxed inside FTZs before being removed nationally.

DimensionNational list (2026)FTZ list (2026)
Item count2927
ManufacturingFully open (zeroed out)Fully open (zeroed out)
ServicesOpening in progressWider pilot openings
RoleBaseline for the whole countrySandbox before national rollout

FTZs as the Testing Ground

The “testing ground” role is now explicit in national planning. The 15th Five-Year Plan outlines an FTZ upgrade strategy that pushes zones to attempt more first-of-their-kind trials in the digital economy, scientific and technological innovation, and offshore trade. In practice this means an investor can often obtain, inside a qualifying zone, approvals that would be refused elsewhere — for example a value-added-telecom licence at a higher foreign-equity share, or a wholly foreign-owned hospital. The quid pro quo is closer regulatory supervision: zones run their own access pre-check systems and expect investors to operate within clearly scoped pilots. The reward is a head start on a measure that may later become national, plus the clustering benefits of being among like-minded foreign firms.

Hainan Free Trade Port: The Deepest Opening

The Hainan Free Trade Port is the most ambitious opening vehicle of all. At the end of 2025, Hainan formally launched full-island customs closure operations (封关运作), a milestone that reclassifies the entire island as a special customs zone with a “first-line open, second-line controlled” regime. For foreign investors this means a substantially liberalised market-access environment, with the negative list applied in its shortest form and the cross-border services-trade negative list trimmed further. Hainan is also one of the designated pilot locations for biotech and wholly foreign-owned hospital openings, and it is explicitly named in the 2026 Action Plan as a place where opening measures are to be “steadily implemented.” Investors in tourism, health, aviation, and tropical agriculture should weigh Hainan alongside the eastern FTZs.

Sector Pilots Running Inside FTZs

Beyond the list itself, the zones host the sector pilots that constitute “opening beyond the list.” Three are especially relevant in 2026:

  • Value-added telecom. By the end of 2025, more than 90 foreign-invested enterprises had been approved for value-added-telecom pilot licences, many inside FTZs, covering cloud, internet data, and related services with foreign equity above the standard 50% cap in qualifying cases.
  • Biotechnology. Pilot scope covers the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong FTZs plus the Hainan Free Trade Port; by end-2025 over 100 foreign firms had brought piloted biotech business within their scope.
  • Wholly foreign-owned hospitals. The pilot spans nine locations — Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangdong, Shenzhen and Hainan island — and the first such hospital (Tianjin鹏瑞利) opened in February 2025.

These pilots are the concrete mechanism by which services — where the national list still binds — are opened incrementally and under observation.

The FTZ Upgrade Strategy Under the 15th Five-Year Plan

The 15th FYP framing shifts the FTZ mission from “more openings” to “better institutions.” The upgrade strategy calls for higher innovation-led development, deeper alignment with international high-standard rules (CPTPP, DEPA), and new platforms such as national services-trade innovation demonstration zones and digital-trade demonstration zones. For a foreign investor this signals that future liberalisation will be delivered less through deleting list entries and more through regulatory reforms inside the zones — data-flow rules, professional-services qualification mutual recognition, and cross-border settlement facilitation. The zones thus become not just looser lists but different regulatory ecosystems.

How to Use the FTZ List for Market Entry

  1. Benchmark both lists. Confirm your sector is open on the national list, then check whether the FTZ list — or a zone-specific pilot — removes a remaining cap.
  2. Match the zone to the pilot. Biotech fits Beijing/Shanghai/Guangdong/Hainan; hospitals fit the nine pilot cities; digital and offshore trade fit Shanghai, Hainan and others.
  3. Use the pre-check system. FTZ “one-network” platforms auto-generate an access pre-check report; file early to surface hidden licence needs.
  4. Plan for supervision. Pilots come with reporting and scope conditions; build compliance into the operating model from day one.
  5. Watch for nationalisation. A measure proven in a zone often moves to the national list at the next revision — position to scale when it does.

For most service-sector investors, the FTZ list and its accompanying pilots — not the national list — are where the real 2026 opportunity lies.

中国2026年自贸试验区负面清单：试点开放与区域优势

自贸区为何拥有独立清单

中国对外资并非实行单一统一筛查。在全国版负面清单之外，自贸试验区（FTZ）适用一份更短的独立负面清单。这一逻辑是刻意的：自贸区是试行尚未具备全国推广条件之开放措施的沙盒。因此，落户自贸区的外国投资者，若业务落入自贸区清单更窄的限制范围，可能面临少于区外投资者的持股上限。对市场进入者而言，选对区域与选对行业同样关键。

2026年自贸区清单：27条

据国务院新闻办公室2026年6月确认，外商投资准入负面清单全国版为29条、自贸试验区版为27条。这2条之差，正是”区内大门更宽”的结构性体现。历史上，自贸区清单相对于全国版进一步解除了若干限制——将额外开放集中于服务业与部分 secondary 行业——待举措成熟后，再于下一次修订时并入全国版。2024年全国版制造业”清零”正是沿此路径：若干制造业上限先在自贸区放宽，后在全国取消。

维度全国版（2026）自贸区版（2026）
条目数2927
制造业全面放开（清零）全面放开（清零）
服务业开放进行中试点开放更宽
角色全国基准全国推广前的沙盒

自贸区作为试验田

“试验田”角色现已写入国家规划。十五五规划提出自贸试验区提升战略，推动有条件自贸区围绕数字经济、科技创新、离岸贸易开展更多首创首试。实践中，符合条件的区内投资者往往能获得区外会被拒绝的批准——例如更高外资股比的增值电信牌照，或外商独资医院。对应的代价是更紧密的监管：区内运行自身准入预检系统，并要求投资者在清晰界定的试点范围内经营。回报则是抢先于可能全国化的举措，以及与同类外资企业集聚的红利。

海南自由贸易港：最深层次的开放

海南自由贸易港是最具雄心的开放载体。2025年底，海南正式启动全岛封关运作，这一里程碑将全岛重新界定为特殊海关监管区，实行”一线放开、二线管住”制度。对外资而言，这意味着大幅放宽的准入环境：负面清单以最短形式适用，跨境服务贸易负面清单进一步压缩。海南同时也是生物技术、外商独资医院开放的指定试点区域之一，并在2026年行动方案中被明确列为”稳妥实施”开放举措之地。旅游、健康、航空、热带农业的投资者应将海南与东部自贸区一并权衡。

区内运行的行业试点

除清单本身外，自贸区承载构成”清单之外开放”的行业试点。2026年尤具相关性的有三项：

  • 增值电信。 截至2025年底，90多家外资企业获批增值电信业务试点牌照，多位于自贸区，涵盖云、互联网数据及相关服务，符合条件者外资股比可高于标准50%上限。
  • 生物技术。 试点范围覆盖北京、上海、广东自贸试验区及海南自由贸易港；至2025年底，百余家外资企业已将试点生物技术业务纳入经营范围。
  • 外商独资医院。 试点横跨9地——北京、上海、天津、南京、苏州、福州、广东、深圳及海南全岛；首家此类医院（天津鹏瑞利）于2025年2月开诊。

这些试点是国家清单仍收紧的服务业得以渐进、可控开放的具体机制。

十五五规划下的自贸试验区提升战略

十五五规划将自贸区使命从”更多开放”转向”更好制度”。提升战略要求提升创新引领发展能级，深化与国际高标准规则（CPTPP、DEPA）对接，并建设国家服务贸易创新发展示范区、国家数字贸易示范区等新平台。对外国投资者而言，这预示着未来开放将更少通过删除清单条目、更多通过区内监管改革来落地——数据流动规则、专业服务资格互认、跨境结算便利。自贸区由此不仅是更松的清单，更是不同的监管生态。

如何利用自贸区清单进行市场准入

  1. 对照两份清单。 先确认行业在全国版开放，再查自贸区版或区试点是否解除剩余上限。
  2. 将区域匹配试点。 生物技术适配北京／上海／广东／海南；医院适配9个试点城市；数字与离岸贸易适配上海、海南等。
  3. 使用预检系统。 自贸区”一网通办”自动生成准入预检报告；尽早提交以暴露隐性许可需求。
  4. 为监管做准备。 试点附带报告与范围条件；从第一天起将合规嵌入运营模式。
  5. 关注全国化。 区内验证的举措常于下次修订进入全国版——为其规模化做好准备。

对多数服务业投资者而言，真实的2026机遇所在，是自贸区清单及其配套试点，而非全国版清单。

Sources

Negative List / 负面清单

China’s 2026 Foreign Investment Negative List: Structure, Scope and Market-Entry Implications

  • China’s nationwide foreign investment negative list stands at 29 items in 2026, its shortest version ever, after manufacturing restrictions were fully removed.
    中国2026年全国版外商投资准入负面清单已缩减至29条，为史上最短版本，制造业限制措施已全面取消。
  • The negative-list-plus-pre-establishment-national-treatment regime remains the default gateway for every foreign investor entering the Chinese market.
    “准入前国民待遇加负面清单”管理制度仍是每一位进入中国市场的外国投资者的默认准入通道。
  • All manufacturing sub-sectors are now open to foreign capital with no equity-ratio caps, marking a complete “zeroing-out” of manufacturing access limits.
    制造业所有细分领域均已向外开开放且不再设股比上限，标志着制造业准入限制全面”清零”。
  • Sensitive sectors including news, publishing, culture, education, certain telecom and mining activities stay restricted or prohibited and require careful screening.
    新闻、出版、文化、教育以及部分电信、采矿等敏感行业仍受限制或禁止，需要仔细筛查。
  • The 2024 edition (NDRC & MOFCOM Order No. 23) is the operative list in force through 2026, with further trimming signalled under the 15th Five-Year Plan.
    2024年版（国���发展改革委、商务部第23号令）是2026年仍在施行的有效清单，十五五规划已明确提出进一步缩减。
  • Foreign investors should still screen business-scope keywords against the list, because post-access operating permits affect listing and M&A outcomes.
    外资仍须就经营范围关键词与清单进行筛查，因为准入后的经营许可会影响上市与并购结果。

China’s 2026 Foreign Investment Negative List: Structure, Scope and Market-Entry Implications | 中国2026年外商投���准入负面清单：结构、范围与准入影响

What the Negative List Is and Why It Matters

Since the Foreign Investment Law took effect on 1 January 2020, China has managed inbound investment through a single organising principle: pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list. Under this regime, any sector that does not appear on the negative list is open to foreign investors on the same terms as domestic firms, and no case-by-case approval is required. The list, in effect, is the “no-go” map: it tells a foreign shareholder exactly where ownership caps, joint-venture requirements, or outright prohibitions still apply. For a market-entry advisor, the negative list is the first document to open before any deal structure, ownership percentage, or legal vehicle is drawn. It determines whether a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is even permissible, whether a Chinese partner is mandatory, and whether a sector regulator’s pre-establishment licence must be secured before the business licence is issued.

The 2024 Edition: 29 Items and a Historic Low

The current operative list is the *Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2024 Edition)*, issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) as Order No. 23 and effective from 1 November 2024. It cut the nationwide list from 31 items to 29 — the shortest in the instrument’s history. The reduction is not merely cosmetic: it removed the last two manufacturing restrictions, a point we return to below. Measured against the early lists first trialled in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in 2013, the national list has fallen by more than half, a trajectory the State Council has repeatedly described as “opening the door wider.” The table below tracks the national list’s contraction over recent editions.

EditionNational itemsHeadline move
201763Baseline national list
202033Nuclear, finance liberalisation begins
202131Mining, rail equipment opened
202429Manufacturing fully opened (“zeroed out”)

Manufacturing “Zeroed Out”

The headline change of the 2024 list is the complete removal of manufacturing access limits. The two deleted items were: (1) a requirement that publication printing be controlled by the Chinese party; and (2) a prohibition on the application of certain traditional Chinese medicine processing techniques (steaming, stir-frying, calcining) and the production of pharmaceuticals based on confidential formulae. With these gone, every manufacturing sub-sector — from automobiles and semiconductors to pharmaceuticals and food — is now open to foreign investors at 100% ownership. NDRC officials confirmed in March 2026 that “manufacturing access restrictions have been fully zeroed out,” and MOFCOM has since framed the policy challenge as shifting from “access” (准入) to “operating permission” (准营) — solving the “big door open, small door closed” problem. In other words, the binding constraint for manufacturers is no longer equity but the operating licence, product registration, and standards compliance that follow.

What Remains Restricted

Despite the manufacturing opening, several strategically sensitive areas remain on the list:

  • News and publishing: foreign investment is prohibited in internet news-information services, online publishing, and broadcast-television programme production; film and television production must be Chinese-controlled.
  • Culture: certain cultural-operation restrictions persist, including limits on Chinese-foreign cooperative operation of performance venues and internet culture operations.
  • Education: compulsory, high-school and higher-education institutions are limited to Chinese-foreign cooperative forms with Chinese dominance; the principal or chief administrative officer must be a Chinese citizen.
  • Telecom: basic telecom services must be Chinese-controlled; for value-added telecom, foreign equity is generally capped at 50% (with carve-outs for e-commerce, domestic multi-party communication, store-and-forward, and call centres).
  • Mining and agriculture: exploration of rare and unique Chinese crop varieties is prohibited; wheat and corn new-variety breeding must be Chinese-controlled.

These carve-outs are deliberate: the negative list is a national-security as well as an openness instrument, and the 15th Five-Year Plan reaffirms “coordinating opening up and security.”

Negative List vs. the Encouraged Catalogue

The negative list is only half the market-access picture. Sectors that are off the list but appear on the *Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment* enjoy concrete incentives — tariff exemptions on imported equipment, preferential land use, and in some cases tax benefits. The 2025 edition of that catalogue (NDRC & MOFCOM Order No. 37, effective 1 February 2026) expanded to 1,679 entries, a net increase of 205 over the 2022 version, steering foreign capital toward advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech, and energy conservation. A market entrant should therefore screen twice: first against the negative list to confirm access is permitted, then against the encouraged catalogue to capture available incentives.

How the Regime Works in Practice

A foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) is still registered through the standard company set-up, but its business scope must be checked against the list. Increasingly, provincial “one-network” platforms generate an access pre-check report automatically: an investor inputs its intended industry code and the system flags whether a pre-establishment licence from a sector regulator (for example, the cultural, education, or health authority) is required. Crucially, the screening now reaches beyond actual operations to the wording of the business-scope description. A licence that merely contains sensitive keywords — “advertising release,” “human stem cells,” “gene diagnosis,” “internet data service” — can trigger scrutiny even if the activity is never carried out, and can affect later overseas listing or equity transfer. Advisors therefore counsel clients to strip non-essential sensitive wording at registration.

What to Watch in 2026 and Beyond

The 2026 Government Work Report and the 15th Five-Year Plan outline both state plainly that the negative list will be further trimmed, with services as the priority. The June 2026 *Action Plan for Stabilizing and Optimizing Foreign Investment* (covered in our separate articles) commits to a “timely reduction” of the negative list and to the orderly opening of telecom, internet, education, culture, and healthcare. The cross-border services-trade negative list is also to be compressed. Practically, foreign investors should expect steady, sector-by-sector liberalisation rather than a single blockbuster revision, with free-trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port acting as the testing ground before national rollout.

Practical Steps for Market Entry

  1. Screen first. Map your intended business scope to the 2024 national list, and, if entering a pilot zone, to the FTZ list as well.
  2. Choose the right vehicle. With manufacturing fully open, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is generally available; for restricted sectors, plan for a joint venture or cooperative structure.
  3. Clean the scope. Avoid sensitive keywords that are not genuinely needed to reduce downstream friction.
  4. Secure pre-establishment licences early where a sector regulator’s approval is required before the business licence.
  5. Check the encouraged catalogue to capture tariff, land, and tax incentives.
  6. Monitor 2026 revisions and pilot-zone expansions that may lift a current restriction.

The negative list is no longer the sharpest constraint on foreign manufacturing investment in China; for most sectors it is simply the first checkbox on a longer operating-permit journey.

中国2026年外商投资准入负面清单：结构、范围与准入影响

负面清单是什么，为何重要

自《外商投资法》于2020年1月1日施行以来，中国通过一条核心原则管理 inbound 投资：准入前国民待遇加负面清单。在这一制度下，凡未列入负面清单的领域，外资均按与内资同等条件开放，无需逐案审批。负面清单实质上是一张”禁区地图”：它明确告诉外国股东，在哪些领域仍适用股比上限、合资要求或 outright 禁止。对市场准入顾问而言，负面清单是绘制任何交易结构、持股比例或法律载体之前首先要打开的文件。它决定了外商独资企业是否可行、是否必须找中国伙伴、以及在营业执照签发前是否需取得行业主管部门的准入许可。

2024年版：29条，史上最短

当前施行的清单是《外商投资准入特别管理措施（负面清单）（2024年版）》，由国家发展改革委、商务部以第23号令发布，自2024年11月1日起施行。它将全国版清单由31条减至29条，为该制度设立以来最短。这一缩减并非表面文章：它删除了最后两项制造业限制，下文详述。回溯2013年上海自贸试验区首次试点的早期清单，全国版清单已缩减逾半，国务院多次将此描述为”大门越开越大”。下表列出近年来全国版清单的收缩轨迹。

版本全国条目标志性动作
201763全国版基准清单
202033核电开放，金融业开放起步
202131采矿、轨道交通设备开放
202429制造业全面放开（”清零”）

制造业”清零”

2024年版最引人注目的变化是制造业准入限制的全面取消。被删除的两项是：（1）出版物印刷须由中方控股；（2）禁止投资中药饮片蒸、炒、炙、煅等炮制技术的应用及中成药保密处方产品的生产。这两项取消后，制造业所有细分领域——从汽车、半导体到医药、食品——均向外开开放，可100%持股。国家发展改革委在2026年3月确认”制造业领域外资准入限制全面清零”，商务部此后将政策重心定义为从”准入”转向”准营”——解决”大门开、小门不开”的问题。换言之，对制造商而言，约束性限制已不再是股权，而是随之而来的经营许可证、产品注册与标准合规。

仍受限制的领域

尽管制造业放开，若干战略敏感领域仍列于清单之上：

  • 新闻与出版： 禁止外商投资互联网新闻信息服务、网络出版、广播电视节目制作；影视制作须由中方控股。
  • 文化： 部分文化经营限制保留，包括对外商中外合作经营演出场所、网络文化经营的限制。
  • 教育： 义务教育、普通高中及高等教育机构限于中外合作办学且由中方主导，校长或主要行政负责人须为中国公民。
  • 电信： 基础电信业务须由中方控股；增值电信外资股比一般不得超过50%（电子商务、国内多方通信、存储转发、呼叫中心除外）。
  • 采矿与农业： 禁止投资中国稀有和特有优良品种繁育；小麦、玉米新品种选育须由中方控股。

这些保留是刻意的：负面清单既是开放工具，也是国家安全工具，十五五规划重申”统筹开放与安全”。

负面清单与鼓励目录

负面清单只是准入图景的一半。未列入清单、但列入《鼓励外商投资产业目录》的领域可享具体优惠——进口设备关税减免、用地优惠，以及部分税收优惠。该目录2025年版（国家发展改革委、商务部第37号令，2026年2月1日施行）扩至1,679条，较2022年版净增205条，引导外资投向先进制造业、现代服务业、高新技术与节能环保。因此，市场进入者须做两次筛查：先对照负面清单确认准入允许，再对照鼓励目录获取可用激励。

制度如何实际运行

外商投资企业仍通过标准设立流程注册，但其经营范围须与清单核对。越来越多省份的”一网通办”平台自动生成准入预检报告：投资者输入拟从事行业代码，系统即提示是否需行业主管部门（如文化、教育、卫生部门）的准入前许可。关键在于，筛查已从实际业务延伸至经营范围表述本身。执照中仅含敏感关键词——”广告发布””人体干细胞””基因诊断””互联网数据服务”——即便从不实际开展，也可能触发审查，并影响日后境外上市或股权转让。因此顾问建议客户在注册时剔除非必要的敏感表述。

2026年及之后的看点

2026年《政府工作报告》与十五五规划《纲要》均明确，负面清单将进一步缩减，并以服务业为重点。2026年6月的《利用外资固稳促优行动方案》（见本系列其他文章）承诺”适时缩减”负面清单，并有序扩大电信、互联网、教育、文化、医疗开放。跨境服务贸易负面清单也将压缩。实践中，外资应预期的是稳步的、分行业的开放，而非一次性大幅修订，自贸试验区与海南自由贸易港将先行先试，再向全国推广。

市场准入的实操步骤

  1. 先行筛查。 将拟从事经营范围对照2024年全国版清单，若进入试点区域还需对照自贸试验区版清单。
  2. 选对载体。 制造业全面放开，一般可设外商独资企业；受限行业则须规划合资或合作结构。
  3. 清理表述。 剔除非必要的敏感关键词，降低后续摩擦。
  4. 尽早取得准入前许可。 凡需行业主管部门批准者，应在营业执照前完成。
  5. 核对鼓励目录 以享受关税、用地与税收优惠。
  6. 关注2026年修订 及试点区域扩容，可能解除当前某项限制。

负面清单已不再是外资制造业投资在中国最尖锐的约束；对多数行业而言，它只是更长”准营”旅程上的第一个勾选项。

Sources

Negative List / 负面清单

2026 Negative List for foreign investment: what changed

  • As of 2026, the operative negative list is still the 2024 edition (NDRC/MOFCOM Order No. 23, effective 1 November 2024), not a newer “2026 list” — screen your sector against it.
    截至 2026 年，现行有效的负面清单仍是 2024 年版（发改委、商务部第 23 号令，2024 年 11 月 1 日施行），而非更新的”2026 版清单”——请据此筛查目标行业。
  • The 2024 revision cut restrictive measures from 31 to 29 and eliminated all remaining manufacturing-sector foreign-access restrictions (“清零”).
    2024 年修订将限制措施由 31 条压减至 29 条，并取消制造业领域全部剩余外资准入限制（”清零”）。
  • Manufacturing is now fully open at the national level, with no equity cap, legal-form requirement, or management-nationality rule.
    制造业在全国层面现已完全放开，无股比上限、组织形式要求或管理人员国籍要求。
  • Services (telecom, healthcare, education, culture) open only gradually through FTZ / Hainan pilots, not the national list — check the pilot catalogue city by city.
    服务业（电信、医疗、教育、文化）仅通过自贸区／海南试点渐进开放，而非全国清单——须按城市核对试点目录。
  • The national list is the floor, not the ceiling: FTZ / Hainan pilot catalogues can apply a more liberal rule inside the zone.
    全国清单是开放的下限而非上限——自贸区／海南试点目录可在区内适用更宽松规则。
  • The encouraged-industries catalogue (2025 edition, effective 1 February 2026) expanded to 1,679 entries and offers preferences such as tilted corporate-income-tax for qualifying projects.
    鼓励外商投资产业目录（2025 年版，2026 年 2 月 1 日施行）扩至 1,679 条，并为符合条件的项目提供如企业所得税倾斜等优惠。
  • Being off the negative list does not mean no licence is needed — sectors may still require an ordinary industry licence.
    不在负面清单上不等于无需许可——相关行业仍可能需要普通行业许可。
  • Re-screen your target sector annually — the list is a living instrument that trends toward further narrowing.
    每年重新筛查目标行业——清单是动态工具，趋势为持续收窄。

2026 Negative List for foreign investment: what changed | 2026 年外资准入负面清单：主要变化解读

Overview

The negative list for foreign investment (外商投资准入负面清单) is the single instrument that defines which sectors are restricted or prohibited for foreign capital. Anything outside the list is, in principle, open to foreign investment on the same terms as domestic capital — the “non-prohibited, free to enter” (非禁即入) principle enacted by the Foreign Investment Law. As of 2026, the operative list is the 2024 edition, published on 8 September 2024 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) as Order No. 23 and in force since 1 November 2024. This article reviews what that revision changed, why it matters for an inbound investor, and where further liberalisation is headed.

The 2024 revision cut the number of restrictive measures from 31 to 29 and — most significantly — eliminated all remaining manufacturing-sector access restrictions (“清零”). This fulfilled the commitment announced at the third Belt and Road Forum in 2023 to fully remove manufacturing foreign-access limits, and it is the headline change an investor should understand before scoping entry. Beyond the headline, the revision is best read as one step in a decade-long, deliberate narrowing of the list, set against a parallel Market Access Negative List that applies equally to domestic and foreign investors.

Legal basis and how the list works

The negative list is authorised by the Foreign Investment Law, which provides that the list is “published or approved for publication by the State Council” and that foreign investment outside the list receives national treatment. The list itself is a unified catalogue of special access measures — equity caps, requirements on legal form, and management-personnel rules — that apply only to foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). For fields outside the list, domestic and foreign capital are treated alike (内外资一致).

The list does not operate in isolation. Two other instruments frame access. First, the Market Access Negative List (市场准入负面清单) applies to all investors, domestic and foreign, and covers items where any market player needs a licence or approval; the foreign-investment list layers on the extra conditions that only foreign capital faces. Second, where a free-trade zone (FTZ) or the Hainan Free Trade Port pilots a more liberal rule, that rule applies within the zone. A practical consequence: the national list is the floor, not the ceiling, of openness for foreign capital.

Crucially, the list is not the whole of market access. Sectors not on the list may still require an ordinary business licence or an industry licence (a general permit, not a foreign-access restriction). The practical question for an investor is therefore rarely “is it allowed?” but “what licence applies, and is there a foreign-equity condition?”.

Manufacturing clearance

The defining feature of the 2024 revision is the removal of the last two manufacturing restrictions. The 2021 edition still limited “publication printing must be Chinese-controlled” and prohibited “the application of steaming, frying, roasting and calcining techniques for Chinese medicinal decoction pieces, and the production of products from confidential Chinese medicine prescriptions”. Both were deleted. Manufacturing is now the only broad sector in which foreign access is, at the national level, essentially unrestricted by equity or legal-form conditions.

This follows a steady multi-year liberalisation. The nationwide and FTZ foreign-investment negative lists were cut from 93 and 122 items (2017) to 31 and 27 items (2021), and the FTZ manufacturing list had already reached “zero” in 2021. For an investor, the message is unambiguous: greenfield or acquisition in manufacturing — advanced manufacturing, high-tech, new-energy vehicles, equipment, chemicals — faces the same corporate and product-quality rules as a domestic firm, with no prior approval for foreign access as such. The only residual condition is that any new manufacturing entity still complies with product-safety, environmental and other general regulation, exactly as a domestic peer would.

Services: where opening is advancing

The 2024 revision is primarily a manufacturing story; services opening is, by design, proceeding more gradually and largely through pilot channels rather than the national list. The NDRC has signalled that work will continue on telecom, internet, education, culture and healthcare, in line with the directives of the third plenum of the 20th Party Congress. Concrete moves already under way include pilot opening of value-added telecom services in designated areas and trial foreign-invested hospitals in selected cities.

Investors should treat services as a “watch the pilot catalogue” sector. A foreign hospital, for example, may be permitted in a pilot city under a filing path while remaining constrained elsewhere; education (pre-school, regular high school and higher-education institutions) remains limited to Chinese-led Sino-foreign cooperative schools; and a long list of cultural and internet-content services stays off-limits nationally. Because pilots are announced city-by-city and zone-by-zone, the national list and the relevant local pilot catalogue must be read together, and the more liberal local rule governs inside that zone.

Regional overlap and pilot openness

Free-trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port may pilot openings beyond the national list. Where they do, the more liberal rule governs inside the zone. This creates a two-layer map: the national 2024 list (29 items) sets the floor, and FTZ / Hainan pilot catalogues can lift specific restrictions further. An investor comparing Shanghai, Hainan, Guangdong’s cooperation zones and other pilot platforms should expect meaningful differences in, for example, telecom, medical, education and certain financial services — differences that can be decisive for a services business model.

The encouraged-industries catalogue (《鼓励外商投资产业目录》) is the complement to the negative list: it steers foreign capital toward sectors — advanced manufacturing, modern services, green tech, central and western regions — that enjoy preferential treatment such as tilted corporate-income-tax rates in qualifying circumstances. The 2025 edition (effective 1 February 2026) expanded the catalogue to 1,679 entries. Reading the negative list and the encouraged catalogue together gives the full picture: the list says what is closed or conditioned, the catalogue says where preferences apply.

Common misreads

Three misreads recur in practice. First, investors sometimes assume that because a sector is off the negative list, no licence is needed at all — but an ordinary industry licence may still apply, and the absence of a foreign-access restriction is not the absence of regulation. A factory still needs environmental and product-safety compliance exactly like a domestic peer. Second, some planners assume a newer “2026 list” has already superseded the 2024 edition; as of 2026 the 2024 list remains operative, and the correct move is to screen against it rather than await a revision that may or may not come. Third, teams compare only the national list and miss the FTZ / Hainan pilot catalogues, where a more liberal rule can be decisive for a services business model. Reading all three layers — national list, pilot catalogue, encouraged catalogue — avoids all three errors and prevents a structure from being designed around a restriction that has in fact been lifted locally.

What to do next

  • Confirm your target sector against the 2024 negative list (29 items) and separately against the FTZ / Hainan pilot catalogue — the more liberal rule applies within the zone.
  • For manufacturing, assume no foreign-access equity condition at the national level; plan around ordinary licences and product standards, not foreign-investment approval.
  • For services (telecom, healthcare, education, culture), check the current pilot open list city-by-city before committing a structure, and expect the map to keep moving.
  • Map the permitting pathway early — for restricted items, lead time on licences, not permission itself, is usually the binding constraint.
  • Review the encouraged-industries catalogue (2025 edition, effective 2026-02-01) to see whether your project qualifies for preference.
  • Re-screen your sector annually; the list is a living instrument that has trend-shrunk, and further narrowing is the stated policy direction.

Sources

Related reading

  • see also: Industry restrictions by sector: a quick map
  • see also: FIE admission rules: approval vs. filing
  • see also: Negative list revision enters effect

2026 年外资准入负面清单：主要变化解读

概述

外资准入负面清单是界定外资限制或禁止行业的核心工具。清单之外，原则上外资与内资同等待遇——即《外商投资法》确立的”非禁即入”原则。截至 2026 年，现行有效清单为 2024 年版：由国家发展改革委、商务部于 2024 年 9 月 8 日以第 23 号令发布，自 2024 年 11 月 1 日起施行。本文梳理该版修订的主要变化、对拟进入投资者的实务意义，以及下一步开放方向。

2024 年版将限制措施由 31 条压减至 29 条，最具标志性的变化是制造业领域外资准入限制措施实现”清零”，落实了 2023 年第三届”一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛关于全面取消制造业领域外资准入限制措施的承诺，也是投资者在进入前必须理解的首要变化。除头条外，本版修订最好理解为十年间有意为之的清单收窄的一步，其背景是与对内资外资统一适用的《市场准入负面清单》并行。

法律依据与清单运作

负面清单由《外商投资法》授权，该法规定清单”由国务院发布或者批准发布”，清单之外外资享受国民待遇。清单本身是统一列明仅适用于外商投资企业的特别管理措施——包括股比上限、组织形式要求、管理人员国籍要求等。清单之外，内外资一致管理。

清单并非孤立运作。另有两项工具框定准入。其一，《市场准入负面清单》对所有投资者（内外资）适用，列明任何市场主体均需许可或审批的事项；外资负面清单叠加仅对外资施加的额外条件。其二，自由贸易试验区、海南自贸港试点更开放规则的，在区内适用更优待遇。实务后果：全国清单是外资开放的下限，而非上限。

需要强调的是，清单并非市场进入的全部。未列入清单的行业仍可能需要普通营业执照或行业许可（属一般许可，而非外资准入限制）。对投资者而言，真正的问题通常不是”是否允许”，而是”需要什么许可，是否存在外资股比条件”。

制造业清零

2024 年版最显著的特征是删除了最后两项制造业限制：2021 年版中”出版物印刷须由中方控股”，以及”禁止投资中药饮片的蒸、炒、炙、煅等炮制技术的应用及中成药保密处方产品的生产”。两项均被删除。制造业由此成为全国层面唯一基本不再以外资股比或组织形式设限的大类行业。

这是多年持续开放的结果：全国与自贸试验区外资准入负面清单已由 2017 年的 93 条、122 条分别压减至 2021 年的 31 条、27 条，且自贸试验区制造业清单已于 2021 年率先”清零”。对投资者而言含义明确——在制造业（先进制造业、高新技术、新能源汽车、装备制造、化工）设立企业或并购，适用与内资相同的公司与产品质量规则，不再就外资准入本身事前审批。唯一残余条件是任何新设制造实体仍须遵守产品安全、环保等一般监管，正如内资同行一样。

服务业：开放在持续推进

2024 年版主要是制造业的故事；服务业开放按设计更为渐进，主要通过试点渠道而非全国清单推进。国家发改委已明确，将依二十届三中全会部署，在电信、互联网、教育、文化、医疗等领域继续扩大开放。已有动作包括在特定区域启动增值电信业务开放试点，以及部分城市开展外资医院试点。

投资者应将服务业视为”紧盯试点目录”的行业。例如，外资医院可能在试点城市走备案路径，但在其他地方仍受约束；教育（学前、普通高中和高等教育机构）仍限于中方主导的中外合作办学；文化及互联网内容服务多项在全国层面仍禁止。由于试点按城市、按区域陆续公布，全国清单与对应地方试点目录须一并阅读，且区内适用更宽松的本地规则。

区域叠加与试点开放

自由贸易试验区与海南自贸港可试点清单之外开放。试点之处，以更宽松规则为准，但仅在区内适用。这形成两层地图：全国 2024 年版（29 条）设定底线，自贸区／海南试点目录可进一步放宽特定限制。比较上海、海南、广东合作区及其他试点平台时，在电信、医疗、教育及部分金融服务上应预期存在实质差异——这些差异对服务业商业模式可能具决定性。

鼓励外商投资产业目录是与负面清单互补的政策：引导外资投向先进制造业、现代服务业、绿色技术、中西部地区等可享受优惠（符合条件时适用倾斜的企业所得税等）的领域。2025 年版（2026 年 2 月 1 日施行）已将目录扩至 1,679 条。将负面清单与鼓励目录并读可得全貌：清单说明何处关闭或附条件，目录说明何处适用优惠。

常见误读

实务中三种误读反复出现。其一，投资者有时以为行业不在负面清单即无需任何许可——但一般行业许可仍可能适用，外资准入限制的缺失不等于无监管。一家工厂仍须像内资同行一样满足环保与产品安全要求。其二，部分规划者以为更新的”2026 版清单”已取代 2024 年版；截至 2026 年 2024 年版仍现行有效，正确动作是据此筛查而非等待未必到来的修订。其三，团队仅比全国清单，漏掉自贸区／海南试点目录——更宽松规则对服务业商业模式可能具决定性。读全三层（全国清单、试点目录、鼓励目录）可避免三类错误，并防止围绕实际已在地方放开的限制去设计结构。

下一步建议

  • 对照 2024 年版负面清单（29 条）确认目标行业，并另行对照自贸区／海南试点目录——区内适用更宽松规则。
  • 制造业：默认全国层面无外资股比条件；按普通许可与产品标准规划，而非外资准入审批。
  • 服务业（电信、医疗、教育、文化）：在确定架构前，按城市逐一核对现行试点开放清单，并预期地图持续变动。
  • 尽早厘清许可路径——受限项的约束通常是许可耗时，而非许可本身。
  • 查阅鼓励外商投资产业目录（2025 年版，2026-02-01 施行），判断项目是否适用优惠。
  • 每年重新筛查行业；清单是动态工具且趋势收窄，进一步收窄为既定政策方向。

来源

相关阅读

  • 参见：分行业外资限制速览地图
  • 参见：外资企业准入：审批与备案
  • 参见：负面清单修订正式生效
FTZ Setup / 自贸区落地

Hunan FTZ Upgrade Plan: Six Tasks to Deepen Institutional Opening

  • Hunan has issued a comprehensive FTZ upgrade plan built around six core tasks to advance institutional opening. 湖南已发布以六大核心任务为支撑、推进制度型开放的自贸试验区全面提升方案。
  • The plan sets 2030 targets across four designated zones covering industry, China–Africa, regional coordination, and talent. 方案设定到 2030 年建成产业、对非、区域协同与人才四类重点区域的目标。
  • Trade facilitation hinges on a full “customs–tax–FX–clearing” chain for new trade forms and an innovated tariff guarantee model. 贸易便利化依托新业态”关—税—汇—清”全链条与创新的关税担保模式。
  • Two-way investment opening advances QFLP balance-management-system innovation to attract overseas and private-equity capital. 投资双向开放推进合格境外有限合伙人（QFLP）余额管理制度创新，吸引海外与私募资本。
  • Industrial innovation backs core manufacturing equipment and builds “AI+” public training grounds for application scenarios. 产业创新支持关键基础制造装备，并建设”人工智能+”特色应用场景公共训练场。
  • China–Africa cooperation deepens via a pilot zone, African specialty parks, cross-border logistics, and a dedicated payment-settlement system. 对非合作通过先行区、非洲特色产业园、跨境物流与专属支付结算体系走向纵深。
  • A foreign-professional service platform and easier FX access round out the plan’s people-centred measures. 外籍人士服务平台与更便利的用汇安排，构成方案以人为中心的配套举措。

Hunan FTZ Upgrade Plan: Six Tasks to Deepen Institutional Opening | 湖南自贸试验区提升战略实施方案：六大任务深化制度型开放

Overview

In August 2026, the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and the People’s Government of Hunan Province jointly issued the *Implementation Plan for the In-Depth Implementation of the Free Trade Zone Upgrade Strategy and the High-Standard Construction of China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone* (hereinafter “the Plan”). The Plan is the province’s flagship roadmap for translating the national free trade zone (FTZ) upgrade strategy into concrete, measurable actions within the Hunan Pilot FTZ.

At its core, the Plan organises Hunan’s next phase of reform around six major tasks, each aimed at deepening *institutional opening*—opening not merely at the border, but through rules, regimes, and services that make the zone more connective, efficient, and attractive to both domestic and foreign participants.

The Plan articulates a clear principal objective: by 2030, Hunan aims to build (1) an integrated innovation development zone across the full industrial chain, (2) an institutional opening promotion zone for China–Africa cooperation, (3) a regional coordinated opening hub zone, and (4) a modern opening-up talent cultivation zone for inland regions. Together, these four zones frame what “high-standard construction” means for an inland FTZ seeking to punch above its weight in global and continental trade.

The Six Tasks at a Glance

The Plan’s six tasks can be summarised as follows:

  1. Upgrade foreign trade — optimise and upgrade external trade through platforms and new trade forms.
  2. Open investment in both directions — broaden channels for foreign and outbound investment.
  3. Raise the modern industrial innovation level — strengthen core manufacturing and emerging-tech capacity.
  4. Deepen substantive China–Africa cooperation — build pilots, parks, logistics, and payment systems for the African market.
  5. Build a foreign-professional innovation and entrepreneurship service platform — serve incoming global talent.
  6. Further facilitate foreign exchange use for domestic and overseas talent — ease cross-border personal and business FX.

The following sections expand on the substantive measures attached to each cluster of tasks.

Trade Facilitation: Upgrading Foreign Trade

The Plan places strong emphasis on promoting the optimisation and upgrading of foreign trade. A central instrument is the construction of a cross-border trade public service platform that connects the various actors and procedures involved in external trade into a single, coherent service environment.

Crucially, the Plan seeks to open up the full “customs–tax–FX–clearing” chain (关—税—汇—清) for new trade forms such as cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade. By linking customs, taxation, foreign exchange, and clearing into one uninterrupted pipeline, the platform is designed to reduce friction, compress processing time, and give smaller traders the same backbone infrastructure previously reserved for large exporters.

On the customs side, the Plan calls for an innovated tariff guarantee model, under which qualified guarantee institutions issue tariff guarantee letters of undertaking on behalf of importers. This shifts the burden of upfront duty payment toward a guarantee-based mechanism, improving cash-flow efficiency for traders.

To support importers’ working capital, the Plan also proposes the launch of “import advance payment” credit insurance, mitigating the risk that buyers bear when paying foreign suppliers ahead of shipment or delivery.

Two-Way Investment: Opening Both Channels

The Plan’s second task is to promote two-way opening of investment. Rather than treating inbound and outbound capital as separate tracks, the Plan treats them as a single, reciprocally reinforcing system.

On the inbound side, Hunan will broaden foreign investment channels and attract overseas capital and private equity to carry out diversified investment cooperation. This signals a welcome for more varied foreign capital structures—beyond wholly foreign-owned vehicles—including partnership and fund-based formats.

A headline reform is the implementation of innovation in the balance-management system for Qualified Foreign Limited Partners (QFLP). By managing QFLP quotas on a balance basis rather than through rigid, transaction-by-transaction approvals, the reform is intended to give foreign limited partners greater flexibility and speed when deploying capital into Hunan-based projects.

Industrial Innovation: Raising the Modern Industry Level

The third task focuses on enhancing the innovation capacity of modern industries. The Plan recognises that an FTZ upgrade is only as strong as the real economy it supports, and it therefore backs the innovation of key basic manufacturing equipment—explicitly naming industrial mother machines, control systems, and instruments and meters as priorities. Strengthening these foundational layers is intended to raise the self-reliance and quality of Hunan’s advanced manufacturing base.

In parallel, the Plan supports the construction of “AI+” characteristic application-scenario public training grounds. These shared environments are meant to let enterprises experiment with and scale artificial-intelligence applications under realistic conditions, lowering the cost of adoption and accelerating the diffusion of intelligent manufacturing and services across the zone.

China–Africa Cooperation: Deepening Substantive Ties

The fourth task—and one of Hunan’s distinctive comparative advantages—is to advance deep, substantive cooperation with Africa. Hunan positions itself as a national bridgehead for China–Africa economic and trade links, and the Plan reinforces this role on several fronts.

First, it supports the construction of a China–Africa economic and trade in-depth cooperation pilot zone, providing an institutional sandbox for rules and models tailored to African trade and investment flows.

Second, the Plan supports African characteristic industrial parks built around products such as coffee, cocoa, and nuts, helping to channel African agricultural and processed goods into China through dedicated, well-serviced channels.

Third, it calls for the formation of cross-border logistics enterprises oriented toward Africa, improving the physical connectivity and reliability of freight between Hunan and African markets.

Fourth, the Plan seeks to introduce and cultivate cross-border payment platforms for Africa and to build a safe and efficient cross-border payment and settlement system for Africa. Reliable settlement infrastructure is a recognised bottleneck in China–Africa commerce, and addressing it directly is central to the zone’s “institutional opening promotion zone for China–Africa cooperation” goal.

Talent and Foreign Exchange: Serving People

The fifth and sixth tasks centre on people. The Plan proposes to build an innovation and entrepreneurship service platform for foreign professionals, lowering the practical barriers that overseas talent face when starting businesses, hiring, and operating within the zone.

Complementing the platform, the Plan commits to further facilitating the use of foreign exchange by domestic and overseas talent. Simpler, more predictable FX procedures for individuals and enterprises reduce a persistent source of friction for internationally mobile founders, specialists, and cross-border teams.

Related Reading

Readers seeking the authoritative basis for the measures above may consult the following official sources: the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), which acts as the competent authority for pilot free trade zones; the People’s Government of Hunan Province, which issued the implementation plan; and the State Council, which provides the top-level deployment of the national FTZ upgrade strategy. Direct links appear in the Sources section below.

湖南自贸试验区提升战略实施方案：六大任务深化制度型开放

概述

2026 年 8 月，中共湖南省委、湖南省人民政府联合印发《深入实施自由贸易试验区提升战略高标准建设中国（湖南）自由贸易试验区实施方案》（以下简称《方案》）。《方案》是湖南落实国家自由贸易试验区提升战略、在自贸试验区框架下转化为可衡量行动的总体路线图。

《方案》以六大任务为核心，组织湖南下一阶段的改革开放，每一项任务都指向深化制度型开放——不仅是边境上的开放，更是通过规则、制度和服务的完善，使片区更具联通性、效率与对内对外吸引力。

《方案》明确了清晰的主要目标：到 2030 年，湖南要打造（1）全产业链集成创新发展区、（2）中非制度型开放促进区、（3）区域协同开放枢纽区、（4）内陆地区现代开放人才培育区。这四类区域共同定义了内陆型自贸试验区”高标准建设”的内涵。

六大任务一览

《方案》的六大任务可概括如下：

  1. 推动对外贸易优化升级——以平台与新业态优化提升外贸。
  2. 促进投资双向开放——拓宽引进来与走出去的投资渠道。
  3. 提升现代产业创新发展能级——强化核心制造与新兴技术能力。
  4. 推进对非深层次合作——建设先行区、产业园、物流与支付体系对接非洲市场。
  5. 搭建外籍人士创新创业服务平台——服务引进来的全球人才。
  6. 进一步便利境内外人才用汇——简化跨境个人与企业的外汇使用。

下文对各项任务所附的具体举措展开说明。

贸易便利化：优化升级对外贸易

《方案》高度重视推动对外贸易优化升级。核心抓手之一是建设跨境贸易公共服务平台，将外贸涉及的各类主体与环节整合为统一、连贯的服务环境。

关键之处在于，《方案》着力打通跨境电商、市场采购贸易等新业态”关—税—汇—清”全链条。把海关、税务、外汇与清结算连成不间断的管道，旨在降低摩擦、压缩办理时间，并让中小贸易者也能享有过去仅面向大型出口商的基础支撑。

在海关环节，《方案》提出创新关税担保模式，由符合条件的担保机构开具关税担保保函，代进口商提供税款担保。这把提前缴税的负担转向基于担保的机制，改善贸易商的资金周转效率。

为支持进口商营运资金，《方案》还提出开展“进口预付款”信用保险，对冲买方在发货或交货前向外方付款所承担的风险。

投资双向开放：引进来与走出去并举

第二项任务是促进投资双向开放。湖南不把引进来与走出去视为两条孤立轨道，而是作为相互强化的统一体系。

在引进来方面，湖南将拓宽外商投资渠道，吸引海外资本、私募股权开展多元化投资合作。这释放出欢迎更多元外资结构的信号——除独资外，也包括合伙、基金等形态。

一项标志性改革是实施合格境外有限合伙人（QFLP）余额管理制度创新。以余额方式管理 QFLP 额度，替代逐笔 rigid 审批，旨在让境外有限合伙人在向湖南项目投放资金时获得更高灵活度与速度。

产业创新：提升现代产业能级

第三项任务聚焦提升现代产业创新发展能级。《方案》认识到，自贸试验区提升归根结底要靠其支撑的实体经济，因此支持关键基础制造装备创新，明确将工业母机、控制系统、仪器仪表列为重点。夯实这些基础层，意在提升湖南先进制造的自立能力与质量。

与此同时，《方案》支持建设“人工智能+”特色应用场景公共训练场。这类共享环境让企业在贴近真实的条件下试验并放大人工智能应用，降低采纳成本，加速智能制造与智能服务在片区的扩散。

对非合作：走向深层次

第四项任务——也是湖南鲜明的比较优势之一——是推进对非深层次合作。湖南把自己定位为中非经贸往来的国家级桥头堡，《方案》从多个层面强化这一角色。

首先，支持建设中非经贸深度合作先行区，为契合非洲贸易与投资流的规则与模式提供制度”沙盒”。

其次，《方案》支持围绕咖啡、可可、坚果等产品建设非洲特色产业园，以专属、配套完善的渠道，把非洲农产及加工品引入中国。

第三，提出组建对非跨境物流企业，提升湖南与非洲市场之间货运的物理连通性与可靠性。

第四，《方案》着力引进培育对非跨境支付平台，并建设安全高效的对非跨境支付结算体系。可靠的结算基础设施是中非商贸公认的瓶颈，直接破解这一瓶颈，正契合”中非制度型开放促进区”目标。

人才与外汇：以人为中心

第五、第六项任务以人为中心。《方案》提出搭建外籍人士创新创业服务平台，降低海外人才在片区内创业、用工与运营所面临的实际门槛。

与之配套，《方案》承诺进一步便利境内外人才用汇。更简单、可预期的个人与企业外汇流程，能减少国际化创始人、专才与跨境团队长期面临的摩擦。

延伸阅读

欲了解上述举措的权威依据，可查阅以下官方来源：作为自由贸易试验区主管部门的商务部、印发本实施方案的湖南省人民政府，以及作出自贸试验区提升战略顶层部署的国务院。具体链接见下方”来源”部分。

Sources

  • 商务部（自由贸易试验区主管部门）：https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/
  • 湖南省人民政府（实施方案印发单位）：https://www.hunan.gov.cn/
  • 国务院（自由贸易试验区提升战略顶层部署）：https://www.gov.cn/
FTZ Setup / 自贸区落地

China’s FTZ Upgrading Strategy: What the 2026 Provincial Plans Open (2026)

  • China is implementing the “FTC upgrading strategy”; Hunan published its implementation plan on 4 August 2026 with targets to 2030.
    中国正实施「自贸试验区提升战略」；湖南于 2026 年 8 月 4 日发布实施方案，目标至 2030 年。
  • The plans widen market access inside FTZs: foreign-owned vocational training, qualified foreign arbitrators, and relaxed cultural/Medical/arbitration openings.
    方案在自贸区内放宽准入：外商独资经营性职业技能培训机构、符合条件的境外仲裁机构、放宽文化/医疗/仲裁等领域。
  • Investment facilitation measures include QFLP balance-management innovation and exemption from registration for foreign-invested onshore reinvestment.
    投资便利化含 QFLP 余额管理创新、外商投资企业境内再投资免予登记。
  • Trade upgrades cover cross-border trade public-service platforms, “bonded +” and bonded-remanufacturing breakthroughs, and smoother “customs-tax-FX-clearing” chains.
    贸易升级涵盖跨境贸易公共服务平台、「保税+」与保税再制造突破，以及更顺畅的「关—税—汇—清」全链条。
  • Provinces are localising the national strategy: Shaanxi lists 17 reform measures; Yangling’s 2026 list has 27 tasks for agro-openness.
    各省正本地化落地：陕西明确 17 项改革举措；杨凌 2026 年清单列 27 项农业开放任务。
  • For foreign investors, FTZs are the fastest sandbox for pilot openings; watch provincial work-guidelines and “investment China” service windows.
    对外资，自贸区是试点开放最快的沙盒；应关注各省工作指引与「投资中国」服务窗口。

China’s FTZ Upgrading Strategy: What the 2026 Provincial Plans Open (2026) | 自贸试验区提升战略：2026 省级方案开放了什么

The Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is China’s primary sandbox for institutional opening. Following the central directive to implement the FTZ upgrading strategy, provinces are now publishing concrete 2026 implementation plans that go beyond tariff facilitation into market access, investment and cross-border flows.

Hunan is a recent example. On 4 August 2026, the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and Government issued the *Implementation Plan for Deeply Implementing the FTZ Upgrading Strategy and Building China (Hunan) FTZ to High Standards*. Its 2030 goals: a batch of institutional-innovation and reform-pilot tasks, a set of Hunan-characteristic opening scenarios, and roles as an integrated industrial-chain innovation zone, a China–Africa institutional-opening promotion zone, and a modern opening-talent cultivation zone.

What does it open? On investment, it widens foreign-investment channels — attracting overseas capital and PE/VC cooperation, piloting QFLP balance-management innovation, exempting foreign-invested onshore reinvestment from registration, and advancing services-sector opening. On market access within the zone, it permits wholly foreign-owned for-profit vocational-training institutions, allows qualified foreign arbitral institutions to set up operations, and relaxes cultural, medical and arbitration openings. On trade, it builds cross-border trade public-service platforms to connect “customs–tax–FX–clearing” for new formats like cross-border e-commerce and market-procurement trade, innovates tariff-guarantee models, and pushes bonded-remanufacturing breakthroughs.

Hunan is not alone. Shaanxi is executing 17 reform measures under its FTZ upgrading plan: relaxing the Chinese-creative ratio for Sino-foreign TV co-production from one-third to one-quarter, lifting limits on foreigners sitting auctioneer/veterinarian/real-estate-appraiser exams, allowing foreign-owned for-profit vocational training, and permitting qualified Hong Kong/Macao/Taiwan doctors to open clinics in the zone. Yangling’s 2026 reform list carries 27 tasks — allowing off-zone bonded-maintenance pilots, a “whitelist” for imported R&D items and food/medicine substances, and opening securities/futures consulting to foreign individuals.

The through-line is “access after admission”: pilots are meaningless unless the combined entity can operate. The plans therefore pair opening with services — single windows, credit-grade alignment across commerce, finance, FX, customs and tax, and “investment China” branding. For a foreign investor, the practical move is to track the provincial work-guidelines for the FTZ you target, confirm whether your business is in the widened scope, and use the zone’s service window to compress licensing. FTZs remain the lowest-friction entry point for testing China’s next round of openings.

自贸试验区提升战略：2026 省级方案开放了什么

自由贸易试验区是中国制度型开放的主要沙盒。在「实施自贸试验区提升战略」的中央部署下，各省正发布具体的 2026 实施方案，从关税便利走向市场准入、投资与跨境流动。

湖南是近期例子。2026 年 8 月 4 日，湖南省委、省政府印发《深入实施自由贸易试验区提升战略高标准建设中国（湖南）自由贸易试验区实施方案》。其 2030 目标：一批制度创新与改革试点任务、一批湖南特色开放场景，定位为全产业链集成创新发展区、中非制度型开放促进区、现代开放人才培育区。

开放了什么？投资上，拓宽外资渠道——吸引海外资本与 PE/VC 合作、试点 QFLP 余额管理创新、外商投资企业境内再投资免予登记、推进服务业扩大开放。区内准入上，允许外商独资设立经营性职业技能培训机构、符合条件的境外仲裁机构设业务机构、放宽文化/医疗/仲裁等领域。贸易上，建设跨境贸易公共服务平台打通跨境电商、市场采购等新业态「关—税—汇—清」，创新关税担保模式，推动保税再制造突破。

湖南并非孤例。陕西落实提升战略 17 项举措：中外合作电视剧中方主创占比由三分之一放宽至四分之一，取消境外个人参加拍卖师/兽医/房地产估价师考试限制，允许外商独资经营性职业培训，允许符合条件的港澳台医生在区内开诊所。杨凌 2026 年清单列 27 项：允许区外保税维修试点、进口研发用物品与食药物质「白名单」、放开境外个人从事证券投资咨询。

主线是「准入之后准营」：试点若不能让合并实体运营便无意义。因此方案将开放与服务配对——单一窗口、商务/金融/外汇/海关/税务信用等级衔接、「投资中国」品牌。对外资，实操动作是跟踪目标自贸区省级工作指引、确认业务是否落入放宽范围、并用区内服务窗口压缩拿照周期。自贸区仍是测试中国下一轮开放的最低摩擦入口。

Picking the Right Zone and Using the Sandbox

Match the business to the zone’s character. Hunan leans into China–Africa trade, agro-tech and cultural-technology; Shaanxi and Yangling emphasise agriculture openness and bonded maintenance; coastal FTZs lead on finance and digital trade. A foreign investor should target the zone whose pilot list contains its exact sub-sector, then confirm whether the opening is “pilot” (needs approval) or “liberalised” (open by rule).

Use the service window proactively. The plans pair opening with single windows and credit-grade alignment across commerce, finance, FX, customs and tax. Bring a concrete project and ask the zone’s investment-service team to map the licences and approvals end to end — this is where “access after admission” is solved in practice. For pilot openings such as foreign-owned vocational training or qualified foreign arbitrators, expect a case-by-case green light rather than automatic registration.

Track the rolling updates. FTZ plans are living documents: provincial work-guidelines, negative lists for investment promotion, and “investment China” campaigns refresh through the year. Set a watch on the target province’s FTZ office and the commerce department, and revisit the scope each quarter. The zones remain China’s lowest-friction entry point for testing the next round of openings — but only for those who read the localised rules, not just the national headline.

选对片区、用好沙盒

将业务与片区特征匹配。湖南侧重中非贸易、农业技术与文化科技；陕西与杨凌强调农业开放与保税维修；沿海自贸区领跑金融与数字贸易。外资应锁定其细分领域恰在试点清单的片区，再确认开放是「试点」（需批复）还是「放开」（依规则开放）。

主动用服务窗口。方案将开放与单一窗口、商务/金融/外汇/海关/税务信用衔接配对。带着具体项目请片区投资服务团队端到端梳理牌照与审批——「准入之后准营」在此实处解决。对外商独资职业培训、合格境外仲裁机构等试点开放，预期逐案绿灯而非自动登记。

跟踪滚动更新。自贸区方案是活文件：省级工作指引、招商引资正面/负面清单与「投资中国」活动年内持续刷新。对目标省自贸区办与商务厅设关注，每季度重审范围。自贸区仍是中国测试下一轮开放的最低摩擦入口——但只属于读懂本地化规则、而非仅看全国标题者。

Practitioner Quick Reference

  • Strategy: China is implementing the FTZ upgrading strategy; provinces issue 2026 local plans.
  • Hunan plan: published 4 Aug 2026, targets to 2030 as an integrated-innovation and China–Africa opening zone.
  • Access widened: foreign-owned vocational training, qualified foreign arbitrators, relaxed cultural/medical openings.
  • Investment: QFLP balance-management pilot; foreign-invested onshore reinvestment exempt from registration.
  • Trade: cross-border public-service platforms; “bonded +”; bonded-remanufacturing breakthroughs.
  • Shaanxi: 17 reform measures; Yangling 2026 list carries 27 agro-openness tasks.
  • Action: match business to zone character; use the single window; track rolling updates quarterly.

实务速查

  • 战略： 中国实施自贸试验区提升战略；各省出台 2026 本地方案。
  • 湖南方案： 2026 年 8 月 4 日发布，目标至 2030 年建成集成创新与中非开放区。
  • 准入放宽： 外商独资职业培训、合格境外仲裁机构、放宽文化/医疗开放。
  • 投资： QFLP 余额管理试点；外商投资企业境内再投资免登记。
  • 贸易： 跨境公共服务平台；「保税+」；保税再制造突破。
  • 陕西： 17 项改革举措；杨凌 2026 清单列 27 项农业开放任务。
  • 行动： 业务匹配片区特征；用单一窗口；每季度跟踪滚动更新。

Bottom Line

The FTZ upgrading strategy is where China pilots its next openings first, and the 2026 provincial plans are the operating manual. Investors should match the business to a zone’s character, use the single window to solve “access after admission”, and track the rolling provincial updates through the year. The zones reward those who read the localised rules — not those who quote only the national headline.

底线

自贸试验区提升战略是中国先行试点下一轮开放之处，2026 年省级方案即操作手册。投资者应让业务匹配片区特征，用单一窗口解决「准入之后准营」，并年内跟踪各省滚动更新。自贸区奖励读懂本地化规则者——而非只引用全国标题者。

Sources

FTZ Setup / 自贸区落地

Lingang & free trade zones playbook

  • China’s FTZs pilot openness before nationwide roll-out; the Lin-gang Special Area (announced 6 Aug 2019, Guofa [2019] No. 15) is explicitly built as a “special economic function zone” with a 119.5 sq km start-up area.
    中国自贸区先行试点开放再向全国推广；临港新片区（2019 年 8 月 6 日宣布设立，国发〔2019〕15 号）明确定位为”特殊经济功能区”，先行启动区面积 119.5 平方公里。
  • Lin-gang offers a reduced 15% corporate income tax for five years from establishment for enterprises in key fields — integrated circuits, AI, biomedicine and civil aviation — engaged in core-segment production and R&D.
    临港对集成电路、人工智能、生物医药、民用航空等关键领域从事核心环节生产研发的企业，自设立起 5 年内减按 15% 征收企业所得税。
  • The Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone (25.31 sq km) is the only “special comprehensive bonded zone” among China’s customs special supervision areas, running a “frontier fully open, second line highly free” model.
    洋山特殊综合保税区（25.31 平方公里）是中国海关特殊监管区域中唯一的特殊综合保税区，运行”一线充分放开、二线高度自由”模式。
  • FTZs apply “pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list”, so foreign and domestic capital are treated alike outside the list and FIE steps move from approval to filing.
    自贸区实行”准入前国民待遇加负面清单”，清单之外内外资一致，外商投资项目及外资企业的设立变更由审批改为备案。
  • A Free Trade Account (FTA) lets qualified enterprises handle cross-border RMB with simplified procedures.
    自由贸易账户（FTA）使优质企业以简化流程办理跨境人民币业务。
  • A Comprehensive Bonded Zone suspends duty: imported goods are bonded, Mainland-to-zone goods qualify as exports with refund, and in-zone processing, logistics, R&D and e-commerce are permitted.
    综合保税区暂缓征税：进口货物保税，境内货物入区视同出口并退税，区内可开展加工、物流、研发与跨境电商。
  • Lin-gang relaxes barriers for high-end talent with overseas qualifications (finance, construction, planning, design) and opens a green channel for R&D teams’ work permits and residence.
    临港放宽具有境外金融、建筑、规划、设计等职业资格的高端人才从业限制，并为研发团队开设工作许可与居留”绿色通道”。
  • Lin-gang also signals an IIT differential subsidy for overseas talent so high-end foreign professionals are not penalised by the China–home tax gap.
    临港还提出对境外人才实施个税税负差额补贴，使高端外籍人才不因中外税负差受损。

Lingang & free trade zones playbook | 临港新片区与自贸区实操手册

Overview

China’s free trade zones (FTZs, 自由贸易试验区) are designated geographic areas where the state pilots openness and regulatory reforms before they are extended nationwide. The first — the China (Shanghai) Pilot FTZ — was launched in 2013. By the end of the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan, 18 FTZs accounted for 17.6% of national foreign investment and 14.7% of imports and exports on under 0.4% of the country’s land area, making them the single most concentrated channel for foreign-invested activity. Within this system, the Lin-gang Special Area (临港新片区) stands apart: approved by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and announced on 6 August 2019 (the *Overall Plan* is Guofa [2019] No. 15), it is explicitly built as a “special economic function zone” benchmarked against the world’s most competitive free-trade ports.

This playbook explains what Lin-gang offers, what general FTZ benefits a foreign firm can rely on anywhere in the network, and a practical landing sequence for setting up.

Lin-gang Special Area: the policy package

The Lin-gang Special Area’s initial启动 area covers 119.5 square kilometres in south-east Shanghai — Nanhui New City, the Lingang equipment industrial zone, Xiaoyangshan Island and the area south of Pudong Airport. Its stated goal is to deliver “investment freedom, trade freedom, capital freedom, transport freedom and freedom of employment” (投资自由、贸易自由、资金自由、运输自由、人员从业自由). The five freedoms, plus information connectivity and an internationally competitive tax regime, are what distinguish Lin-gang from an ordinary FTZ.

On trade, the Plan creates a physically fenced zone inside Lin-gang — the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone (洋山特殊综合保税区) — which, at 25.31 sq km and accepted by a State Council joint inspection in May 2020, is the only “special comprehensive bonded zone” among China’s customs special supervision areas. It operates a “frontier fully open, second line highly free” (一线充分放开、二线高度自由) model: goods from outside China enter the zone bonded or duty-free, and goods moving from the Mainland into the zone are treated as exports with refund. On capital, the Plan supports piloting integrated RMB/foreign-currency functions for the Free Trade Account (FTA, 自由贸易账户), exploring free capital inflow/outflow and convertibility within the zone, and allowing funds raised offshore by in-zone enterprises to be used freely for in-zone and offshore operations.

The tax edge and talent provisions

The most concrete benefit for an investor is the corporate income tax (CIT) break. For enterprises in Lin-gang engaged in the production and R&D of core segments in key fields — integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and civil aviation — the CIT is levied at a reduced 15% rate for the five years from the date of establishment. The Plan also signals a policy of subsidising the individual income tax (IIT) differential for overseas talent, so that high-end foreign professionals are not penalised by the gap between Chinese and home-country tax rates. Foreign-invested firms in advanced manufacturing and R&D should treat the 15% CIT window as a location decision variable, not just a tax footnote.

On people, Lin-gang relaxes barriers for high-end talent in modern services: it allows qualified professionals with overseas qualifications in finance, construction, planning and design, after filing, to provide services in the zone, and counts overseas professional experience as domestic experience. It also opens a “green channel” for work permits and permanent or long-term residence for leading research and innovation teams.

General FTZ benefits available to foreign firms

Outside Lin-gang specifically, every FTZ in the national network gives a foreign firm a common toolkit. The headline reform is “pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list” (准入前国民待遇加负面清单) for foreign investment: outside the list, foreign and domestic capital are treated alike, and foreign-invested projects and the incorporation/change of FIEs move from approval to filing. Complementary reforms include the “separating licences from certificates” (证照分离) reform, which cuts the permits needed to start operating, and the FTA cross-border settlement and financing framework that lets qualified enterprises handle cross-border RMB with simplified procedures.

On the customs side, FTZs host Comprehensive Bonded Zones (综合保税区) and other customs special supervision areas where imported goods are bonded, goods sent from the Mainland into the zone qualify for export refund, and in-zone processing, logistics, R&D, testing, repair, cross-border e-commerce, commodity display and international entrepôt trade are permitted. The combination — easier market entry, a bonded customs environment and an FTA for cross-border cash — is the core “FTZ advantage” a foreign SME should expect regardless of which zone it picks.

A landing playbook for foreign firms

A disciplined sequence works as follows. First, screen the sector against the national negative list and the FTZ negative list; if the activity is in a pilot-opened area (e.g., certain modern-service and professional-service sub-sectors), the zone route removes the restriction. Second, pick the zone by function — Lin-gang and its Yangshan zone for manufacturing/R&D and offshore-oriented trade, other coastal FTZs for sector-specific strengths — and confirm the local “indent catalogs” (鼓励类/重点产业) that unlock fiscal incentives. Third, decide the entity form (WFOE is the default for operational control) and prepare the filing rather than approval package. Fourth, open an FTA and, if importing or exporting through the zone, structure the supply chain to use bonded warehousing. Fifth, model the CIT/IIT incentives early, because the 15% Lin-gang CIT only applies to the named key fields and only for the five-year window from establishment.

What to do next

  • Screen your sector against both the national and the FTZ negative lists before committing to a location.
  • If you are in IC, AI, biomedicine or civil aviation R&D/manufacturing, model the 15% Lin-gang CIT over the five-year establishment window.
  • Choose a zone by function, not prestige — Lin-gang/Yangshan for manufacturing and offshore trade, others for sector fit.
  • Prepare a filing-based incorporation package; most FIE steps in an FTZ are filing, not approval.
  • Open a Free Trade Account to simplify cross-border RMB receipt and payment.
  • Use the zone’s Comprehensive Bonded Zone for bonded imports, processing and re-export to cut working-capital and duty cost.

Sources

Related reading

  • see also: Greater Bay Area: opportunities for SMEs
  • see also: Free trade zone bonded logistics playbook
  • see also: Tax treaty benefits for foreign investors

临港新片区与自贸区实操手册

概述

中国的自由贸易试验区（FTZ）是国家在局部区域先行试点开放与监管改革、再向全国推广的指定区域。首个——中国（上海）自由贸易试验区——于 2013 年设立。到”十三五”末，全国 18 个自贸试验区以不到全国千分之四的国土面积，贡献了 17.6% 的外商投资和 14.7% 的进出口，是外商投资活动最集中的单一渠道。在这一体系中，临港新片区地位特殊：经党中央、国务院批准，于 2019 年 8 月 6 日宣布设立（总体方案为《国发〔2019〕15 号》），明确定位为对标全球竞争力最强自由贸易园区的”特殊经济功能区”。

本手册说明临港新片区提供什么、外国企业可在全国自贸区网络中依赖的通用优惠，以及一套务实的落地步骤。

临港新片区：政策组合

临港新片区先行启动区域位于上海东南，面积 119.5 平方公里，涵盖南汇新城、临港装备产业区、小洋山岛及浦东机场南侧。其目标是实现”投资自由、贸易自由、资金自由、运输自由、人员从业自由”。这五大自由，加上信息快捷联通与国际竞争力的税收制度，正是临港区别于普通自贸区的标志。

在贸易方面，总体方案在临港内设立物理围网区域——洋山特殊综合保税区，面积 25.31 平方公里，于 2020 年 5 月通过国务院联合验收，是中国海关特殊监管区域中唯一的特殊综合保税区。其运行”一线充分放开、二线高度自由”的模式：境外货物入区保税或免税，境内区外货物入区视同出口并退税。在资金方面，方案支持开展自由贸易账户本外币一体化功能试点，探索区内资本自由流入流出与自由兑换，并允许区内企业从境外募集的资金自主用于区内及境外经营投资活动。

税收红利与人才条款

对投资者最具体的利好是企业所得税（CIT）优惠。对临港新片区内符合条件的从事集成电路、人工智能、生物医药、民用航空等关键领域核心环节生产研发的企业，自设立之日起 5 年内减按 15% 的税率征收企业所得税。方案还提出研究实施境外人才个人所得税税负差额补贴政策，使高端外籍人才不因中外税负差而受损。从事先进制造与研发的外商投资企业，应将这 15% 的 CIT 窗口视为选址决策变量，而非仅仅一项税务注脚。

在人员方面，临港放宽现代服务业高端人才的从业限制：允许具有境外金融、建筑、规划、设计等领域职业资格且符合条件的专业人才，经备案后在区内提供服务，其在境外的从业经历可视同国内经历；并为科研创新领军人才及团队开设工作许可与永久或长期居留的”绿色通道”。

外国企业可享的通用自贸区优惠

除临港专属政策外，全国自贸区网络为外国企业提供一套通用工具箱。核心改革是对外商投资实行”准入前国民待遇加负面清单”：清单之外内外资一致，外商投资项目及外商投资企业的设立、变更由审批改为备案。配套改革包括”证照分离”，削减开业所需许可；以及自由贸易账户（FTA）跨境结算与融资框架，使优质企业以简化流程办理跨境人民币业务。

在海关层面，自贸区设有综合保税区等海关特殊监管区域：进口货物保税，境内货物入区享受出口退税，区内可开展加工、物流、研发、检测、维修、跨境电商、商品展示与国际转口贸易。市场进入更便利、保税监管环境、以及用于跨境资金的自由贸易账户——这三者的组合，就是无论选择哪个片区都应有的”自贸区核心优势”。

外国企业落地实操手册

一套有纪律的步骤如下。第一，对照全国负面清单与自贸区负面清单筛查行业；若业务属于先行开放领域（如部分现代服务业与专业服务子项），走片区路径即可解除限制。第二，按功能选片区——临港及洋山片区适合制造/研发与离岸导向贸易，其他沿海自贸区按各自产业强项——并确认能解锁财政激励的本地”鼓励类/重点产业”目录。第三，确定主体形式（追求经营控制通常以 WFOE 为默认），准备备案而非审批材料。第四，开立自由贸易账户；若经片区进出口，应将供应链结构设计为使用保税仓储。第五，尽早测算 CIT/IIT 优惠，因为临港 15% CIT 仅适用于所列关键领域，且仅自设立起 5 年窗口内有效。

下一步建议

  • 在确定选址前，先同时对照全国与自贸区负面清单筛查行业。
  • 若从事集成电路、人工智能、生物医药或民用航空的研发/制造，测算临港 15% CIT 在五年设立窗口内的效益。
  • 按功能而非名气选片区——制造与离岸贸易看临港/洋山，其他产业看匹配度。
  • 准备以备案为基础的设立材料；自贸区内的外资步骤多为备案而非审批。
  • 开立自由贸易账户，简化跨境人民币收付款。
  • 利用片区综合保税区开展保税进口、加工与复出口，降低营运资金与关税成本。

来源

相关阅读

  • see also: 粤港澳大湾区：中小企业的机遇
  • see also: 自贸区保税物流实操手册
  • see also: 外商投资企业的税收协定待遇
FTZ Setup / 自贸区落地

Foreign-Capital Facilitation Inside China’s FTZs in 2026

  • The 2025 edition of the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment added a net 205 encouraged items, focusing on advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech and energy conservation.
    2025年版《鼓励外商投资产业目录》净增205条鼓励类条目，重点在先进制造、现代服务、高新技术与节能环保。
  • All manufacturing-sector foreign-investment market-access restrictions have been eliminated, shifting the openness frontier to services — telecoms, biotech, wholly foreign-owned hospitals and education.
    制造业领域外资准入限制已全面”清零”，开放前沿转向服务业——电信、生物技术、外商独资医院与教育。
  • At the 26 January 2026 press conference, MOFCOM outlined four 2026 work lines: services opening, investment-support policy, a service-guarantee system, and diverse opening highlands (including the FTZ upgrade).
    在2026年1月26日新闻发布会，商务部明确2026年四条工作线：服务业开放、投资支持政策、服务保障体系和形态多样的开放高地（含自贸区提升）。
  • MOFCOM runs foreign-investor roundtables and an on-site service campaign for foreign enterprises, turning firms’ “demand lists” into the ministry’s “service lists”; major FDI projects get dedicated task-force support.
    商务部举办外资企业圆桌会并开展”服务保障进外企”活动，将企业”需求清单”转化为”服务清单”；重大外资项目设专班保障。
  • Reinvestment tax incentives are live: overseas investors’ direct investment from China-sourced profits enjoys tax credit/deferral treatment under the encouraged-catalogue and relevant rules.
    利润再投资税收优惠落地：境外投资者以在华取得利润直接投资，在鼓励目录及相关规则下享受税收抵免/递延。
  • The 26 May 2026 Qingdao summit briefing reaffirmed “invest in China, take root in China” — stabilising policy expectations and safeguarding foreign-funded enterprises’ national treatment and access to government procurement.
    2026年5月26日青岛峰会吹风会重申”投资中国、深耕中国”——稳定政策预期，保障外资企业国民待遇并参与政府采购。

Foreign-Capital Facilitation Inside China’s FTZs in 2026 | 2026年自贸区内外资便利化举措

The 2026 policy frame for foreign capital

China enters 2026 — the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan — with a stated commitment to “better, broader, deeper, smoother” (更好、更广、更深、更顺) foreign investment. The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has made stabilising and optimising foreign investment a flagship task. For an investor, the practical question is not whether China wants FDI, but where the concrete facilitation measures are, and how FTZs function as the fast lane.

Two facts set the stage. First, manufacturing-sector foreign-investment market-access restrictions have been fully eliminated (制造业外资准入限制全面”清零”). Second, the 2025 edition of the *Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment* added a net 205 encouraged items, weighted toward advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech and energy conservation. Together, they shift the openness frontier decisively toward services.

Four 2026 work lines from MOFCOM

At the 26 January 2026 State Council Information Office briefing on 2025 commercial work, MOFCOM’s foreign-investment department head Wang Ya set out four priorities for 2026:

  1. Expand market access with services as the focus — orderly opening of telecoms, medical care and education, landing pilot projects early, and ensuring “both access and operation” (既准入又准营) in already-opened fields.
  2. Optimise investment-support policy — implementing profit-reinvestment tax credits, the encouraged-catalogue incentives, and supporting foreign firms’ participation in consumption-stimulation, government procurement and bidding on equal terms.
  3. Strengthen the investment service-guarantee system — full national treatment, foreign-investor roundtables, and an on-site service campaign for foreign enterprises that converts firms’ “demand lists” into the ministry’s “service lists”.
  4. Build diverse opening highlands — steadily optimising the FTZ regional layout, deeper alignment with high-standard rules, industry-chain integrated innovation in emerging fields, and services-opening comprehensive pilot demonstrations.

For the foreign investor, lines 1 and 4 are where FTZs matter most: the zone is the test bed for the services openings and the venue for the new pilot tasks.

Services opening: the next frontier

The services agenda is concrete. At the 26 May 2026 briefing for the Qingdao multinational leaders’ summit, MOFCOM Vice Minister Yan Dong detailed it: improve the cross-border services-trade negative-list management system; orderly expand autonomous opening in telecoms, internet, education, culture and medical care; steadily implement pilots in value-added telecoms, biotech and wholly foreign-owned hospitals; and ensure “both access and operation” in opened fields. MOFCOM will also deepen the national services-opening comprehensive pilot demonstration and build national services-trade innovation and digital-trade demonstration zones.

These pilots are, by design, first landed inside FTZs and the services-opening demonstration cities. A foreign services firm should therefore treat an FTZ location as the compliant entry point while a sub-sector remains pilot-restricted nationally.

The service-guarantee machinery

Beyond market access, 2026 sharpens the “soft” facilitation. MOFCOM’s foreign-investor roundtables (外资企业圆桌会) are a standing channel: firms raise concerns directly, and the “on-site service for foreign enterprises” (服务保障进外企) campaign takes the conversation to the firm. The framing — turning the enterprise “demand list” into the government “service list” — is meant to close the gap between policy and experience.

At the project level, China operates major foreign-invested-project task forces (重大外资项目工作专班) at both national and provincial tiers, coordinating to smooth implementation. For a sizeable greenfield or M&A investment, engaging the local task force early can de-risk approvals, land, talent and utility bottlenecks.

Tax and reinvestment incentives

The encouraged catalogue is not symbolic — it carries preferential treatment (notably corporate income tax reductions for encouraged projects). Critically, reinvestment is incentivised: overseas investors that directly invest China-sourced profits into encouraged sectors enjoy tax credit/deferral treatment. Combined with the FTZ-specific tax packages (for example, the 15% CIT in key Lin-gang fields), the effective tax position of a well-structured foreign investment can be materially lower than a naive reading suggests.

Investors should model the interaction of three layers: the national encouraged-catalogue CIT preference, any FTZ/zone-specific incentive, and the profit-reinvestment treatment — because the combination, not any single item, drives the outcome.

What foreign firms should do

  • Screen your activity against the 2025 encouraged catalogue; a qualifying project unlocks CIT preference and reinvestment tax relief.
  • For services (telecoms, biotech, hospitals, education, culture), target an FTZ or demonstration city where the pilot has been landed, and confirm “access and operation” status.

-Join or brief through the foreign-investor roundtable channel; use the on-site service campaign to escalate blocking issues.

  • For material investments, request engagement with the major-project task force at provincial level to pre-clear land, talent and utility pathways.
  • Plan profit reinvestment into encouraged sectors to capture tax credit/deferral rather than repatriating.
  • Treat the FTZ negative list (shorter than the national list) as the first filter for any restricted sector.

The negative-list baseline and the FTZ differential

Every foreign-investment screening starts with the negative list. The 2024 national list (29 items, effective 1 November 2024) is the floor; FTZs operate a shorter version that pilot-opens sub-sectors still closed nationally. The 2026 message from MOFCOM is that this differential will widen, not narrow, as services opening advances. An investor should therefore never conclude “closed in China” from the national list alone — the FTZ list, and the services-opening demonstration cities, may already permit the activity.

Sector deep-dives: where the pilots actually are

The live services pilots in 2026 are concentrated in a few fields. Value-added telecoms: foreign equity is being allowed in selected pilot zones for specific services, subject to the catalogue. Biotechnology: foreign-invested R&D and certain manufacturing steps are being opened in pilot areas. Wholly foreign-owned hospitals: a bounded pilot lets foreign capital own and operate hospitals in designated cities. Education and culture are opening more cautiously. The pattern is consistent — pilot first in an FTZ or demonstration city, prove the regime, then replicate. A foreign services firm’s China entry plan should be built around “which pilot, in which zone, with what licence”.

How the guarantee system resolves friction

When a genuine blockage appears — a licence stuck, a standard unclear, a local interpretation divergent — the 2026 machinery is designed to catch it. The foreign-investor roundtable is a direct line to MOFCOM and, through it, to the relevant line ministry; the “on-site service for foreign enterprises” campaign takes officials to the firm’s site. Major projects get a dedicated task force that can escalate across bureaus. The practical advice is to raise issues early and concretely: vague complaints get generic answers, while a specific “demand list” item (a missing licence, a stuck customs code) becomes a tracked “service list” action.

Measuring the real incentive stack

The headline “openness” is only part of the value; the incentive stack is where economics are won. A well-structured investment can combine three layers: the national encouraged-catalogue corporate-income-tax preference for the project; any FTZ- or zone-specific incentive (for example, the 15% CIT in Lin-gang’s key fields); and the profit-reinvestment tax credit for ploughing China earnings back into encouraged sectors. These are not mutually exclusive, and the interaction — not any single line — drives the effective rate. Investors should model the combined position before choosing the vehicle and location, because the optimal structure often differs from the naive default.

2026年自贸区内外资便利化举措

2026外资政策框架

中国进入2026年——”十五五”开局之年，明确承诺让外资企业在华发展”更好、更广、更深、更顺”。商务部将稳外资、优外资列为重点工作。对投资者而言，实际问题不是中国是否欢迎外资，而是具体便利化措施在哪里、自贸区如何作为快车道。

两个事实定调。其一，制造业领域外资准入限制已全面”清零”。其二，2025年版《鼓励外商投资产业目录》净增205条鼓励类条目，侧重先进制造、现代服务、高新技术与节能环保。二者合力，将开放前沿决定性地向服务业推移。

商务部2026年四条工作线

在2026年1月26日国新办2025年商务工作新闻发布会，商务部外国投资管理司负责人王亚明确2026年四条主线：

  1. 以服务业为重点扩大市场准入——有序扩大电信、医疗、教育等领域自主开放，推动试点尽早落地，在已开放领域保障外商投资”既准入又准营”。
  2. 优化外商投资支持政策——落实境外投资者以在华取得利润直接投资的税收抵免、鼓励目录等举措，一视同仁支持外资企业参与提振消费、政府采购、招投标。
  3. 健全外商投资服务保障体系——全面落实外资国民待遇，办好外资企业圆桌会，开展”服务保障进外企”活动，将企业”需求清单”变为”服务清单”。
  4. 打造形态多样的开放高地——稳步优化自贸区区域布局，深入对接高标准规则，新兴产业重点领域全产业链集成创新，推进服务业扩大开放综合试点示范。

对投资者而言，第1、4条与自贸区最相关：自贸区既是服务业开放的试验场，也是新一批改革试点任务的承载地。

服务业开放：下一前沿

服务业议程具体可感。在2026年5月26日青岛跨国公司领导人峰会吹风会，商务部副部长鄢东详述：完善跨境服务贸易负面清单管理制度；有序扩大电信、互联网、教育、文化、医疗等领域自主开放；稳妥实施增值电信、生物技术、外商独资医院等试点；在已开放领域保障”既准入又准营”。商务部还将深化国家服务业扩大开放综合试点示范，统筹布局建设国家服务贸易创新发展示范区、国家数字贸易示范区。

这些试点按设计率先落地于自贸区及服务业扩大开放示范城市。因此，服务类外企应将自贸区选址视为在相关子领域全国仍属试点限制时的合规入口。

服务保障机制

除市场准入外，2026年强化”软”便利化。商务部外资企业圆桌会是常态化渠道：企业直接反映诉求，”服务保障进外企”活动将沟通送到企业门口。”将企业需求清单转化为政府服务清单”的提法，旨在弥合政策与体验之间的落差。

项目层面，中国在国家与省级均设重大外资项目工作专班，协调推进落地。对较大规模的绿地或并购投资，尽早对接地方专班可化解审批、用地、人才与配套瓶颈。

税收与再投资激励

鼓励目录非象征性——它附带优惠（尤其鼓励类项目的企业所得税减免）。关键在于再投资受激励：境外投资者以在华取得利润直接投资鼓励类领域，享受税收抵免/递延。叠加自贸区专属税包（如临港关键领域15%企业所得税），结构得当的外资有效税负可显著低于表面判断。

投资者应建模三层叠加：国家鼓励目录CIT优惠、自贸区/片区专属激励、利润再投资待遇——因组合而非单项决定结果。

外国企业应如何行动

  • 将业务对照2025年鼓励目录筛查；符合条件的项目解锁CIT优惠与再投资税收减免。
  • 对服务业（电信、生物技术、医院、教育、文化），选址已落地试点的自贸区或示范城市，并确认”既准入又准营”状态。
  • 通过外资企业圆桌会渠道参与或反映；借助”服务进企”活动升级卡点问题。
  • 对重大投资，请求省级重大外资项目专班对接，预先疏通用地、人才与配套路径。
  • 规划将利润再投资于鼓励类领域，以享税收抵免/递延，而非汇回。
  • 将自贸区负面清单（短于全国版）作为任何受限行业的首道过滤器。

负面清单基线与此自贸区之差

一切外资筛查都始于负面清单。2024年全国版（29条，2024年11月1日施行）是底线；自贸区运行更短版本，试点开放全国仍封闭的子领域。商务部2026年的信号是：随着服务业开放推进，这一差幅将扩大而非收窄。因此投资者切勿仅凭全国版即下”中国封闭”结论——自贸区版及服务业扩大开放示范城市，可能已允许该活动。

行业深潜：试点究竟在哪里

2026年活跃的服务业试点集中在少数领域。增值电信：在特定试点片区对特定业务允许外资股权，受目录约束。生物技术：在试点区域对外开放外资研发与部分制造环节。外商独资医院：一项有边界的试点允许外资在指定城市拥有并运营医院。教育与文化开放更为审慎。模式一致——先在自贸区或示范城市试点，验证制度，再复制。外国服务企业的中国进入计划应围绕”哪个试点、在哪个片区、持何牌照”构建。

保障机制如何化解摩擦

当出现真实卡点——执照卡住、标准不明、地方解释分歧——2026年机制旨在接住它。外资企业圆桌会是直通商务部的渠道，并借此对接相关行业主管部门；”服务保障进外企”活动将官员带到企业现场。重大项目设专班，可跨局升级。实务建议是尽早具体地反映问题：笼统抱怨得到泛泛答复，而具体的”需求清单”事项（缺失执照、卡住的海关编码）会变成可追溯的”服务清单”动作。

测算真实的激励叠加

“开放”只是价值的一部分；激励叠加才是经济性的决胜处。结构得当的投资可叠加三层：项目的国家鼓励目录企业所得税优惠；自贸区或片区专属激励（如临港关键领域15%企业所得税）；以及将中国利润再投资于鼓励领域的利润再投资税收抵免。三者非互斥，其叠加——而非任一条——决定实际税负。投资者应在选择载体与选址前测算组合效应，因最优结构往往异于朴素默认。

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