China promises greater market openness in emerging industries

BEIJING -- China is set to remove more entry barriers in emerging industries by leveraging special policy tools to facilitate the application of new technologies, the country's top economic planner said Friday.

Pilot programs will be implemented in key areas to spearhead this effort, with special measures aimed at easing market access to be introduced in stages, Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference.

Li was addressing an opinion document released on Aug 21 concerning improvement of the market access system. Elaborating on the highlights of this document, Li said it is the first of its kind to focus on ten emerging industries, including aerospace, aviation, new energy and artificial intelligence, among others.

It aims to remove key obstacles to deep industry transformation, and enhance the innovative allocation of production factors to improve access efficiency, he added.

The document further refines negative list management, sets clear-cut access rules, enhances coordination between domestic and foreign investment access policies, and optimizes entry for new industries, among other areas, Li said.

It strengthens support for a nationwide unified negative list, ensuring its consistency, standardization and enforcement to better safeguard equal market entry for businesses.

Entry restrictions in the service sector will be gradually eased in areas where national security and social stability are not compromised, and where market competition can enhance supply quality, Li noted.

Looking ahead, the commission will collaborate with other departments to implement the opinion document, optimize the market access environment, and boost market expectations, Li concluded.