New investment law declares China’s resolve to better business environment: expert
By Wang Di, Zhang
Huizhong from People’s Daily
The rollout of a new foreign investment
law declares China’s determination to optimize business environment, and
underlines its efforts to further facilitate foreign investment with detailed
institutional design, an expert told People’s Daily.
The new law responds to long-standing
questions concerned by foreign-funded companies and other investors by giving
answers on how to define, promote, protect and manage foreign investment, added
Zhang Sujun, vice president of the China Law Society.
His
comments came after deputies from provinces, autonomous regions and
municipalities deliberated on the latest draft of the proposed law in their
plenary meetings on March 10. The new draft, which would serve as China’s basic
law on foreign investment if adopted, has drawn attention from both home and
abroad.
Upon
adoption, the unified law will replace three existing laws on Chinese-foreign
equity joint ventures, non-equity joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned
enterprises.
The
three laws have been working as the basic backup of China’s legal system for
foreign investment after China embarked on the journey of reform and opening
up, but now they could hardly catch up with the changing requirements in
further deepening reforms and expanding opening up.
The
draft further simplifies the management procedures on foreign investment and
adds more service policies for foreign investors. It also requires
policy-makers to collect the suggestions and opinions of foreign investors
before formulating laws, rules or guidelines related to foreign investment.
The
law also asks the authorities to perfect service system by providing foreign
investors with consultations and other services on laws, rules, policies and
project information.
“These
provisions indicate that Chinese government is committed to creating a more favorable
business environment by furthering its reforms in streamlining administration
and delegating power, improving regulation, and upgrading services,” said
Zhang.
The
draft makes it clear that the state shall manage foreign investment according
to the system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list. In
industries that are not on the negative list, domestic and foreign enterprises
would be subject to a unified set of rules and compete on a level playing
field.
According
to the new law, foreign investors are accessed to business supporting policies
rolled out by the country, excepting a few special cases stipulated by the
laws and administrative rules.
It
also upgrades a series of industrial and regional policies on investment services,
capital inflow and foreign investment absorbing to law provisions, so as to
reassure the legal guarantee for the equal treatment of domestic and foreign
investors.
The
overarching law also specifies measures to protect the rights and interests of
foreign investors, especially their intellectual property rights (IPR).
The
state shall protect the IPR of foreign investors based on law, and encourage
technology cooperation based on voluntary agreement and commercial rules, the
draft said, but stressed that the cooperation details must be decided by
involved sides after voluntary consultation, and forced technology transfers
through administrative means is not allowed.
Stressing
the importance of honoring commitment, the draft also asks government departments
at all levels to keep their policy promise for foreign investors and implement
the lawful contracts they signed.
Zhang
added that enabling a more unified and regulated management on the foreign
investment, the new law will lay a solid foundation for China’s efforts to
drive economic growth, deepen reforms and expand opening up by better utilizing
foreign investment.
Deputies
to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) from east
China's Jiangxi province, including secretary of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) Ruijin Municipal Committee Xu Rui (1st from the right), general
manager of China Railway Nanchang Group Ma Yejiang (middle) and mayor of
Ganzhou city Zeng Wenming (1st from the left), are discussing on the draft of
the foreign investment law. Deputies from Jiangxi province held a plenary
meeting on March 10 to review the draft. (Photo by Shi Jiamin from People’s
Daily)
New investment law declares China’s resolve to better business environment: expert
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