Beijing to open further 6 service industries to foreign capital

Beijing will open a further six service industries and deepen reform in the overseas investment management system, according to Liu Haiquan, assistant minister of Commerce in Beijing on Tuesday, September 15th.

Beijing will open a further six service industries and deepen reform in the overseas investment management system, according to Liu Haiquan(L), assistant minister of Commerce in Beijing on Tuesday, September 15th.

The six industries are science and technology, information and the Internet, culture and education, finance, trade and tourism, health and medical care.

The Chinese State Council agreed in May of 2015 that a trial project consisting of "opening up" the service industries will be carried out in Beijing, making Beijing the first pilot city in China to do so.

The "opening up" of the six industries coupled with the reform of the overseas investment management system constitute what is called the "6+1" pattern. The six service industries will be gradually opened to all types of investment, and the restrictions on the equity ratio of foreign capital will be loosened or abolished, while the restrictions on the necessary qualifications and scope of running a business will be partially or entirely loosened.

The reform on the foreign investment management system will focus on the implementation of the "filing system," meaning that many qualified companies do not have to go through the previous lengthy examination and approval procedures. The reform will help Chinese companies better tap the global market.

Compared to the "opening up" of service industries in China's four free trade zones (in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, and Fujian), the pilot project in Beijing is the first time this kind of project has been carried out on a city-wide scale.

"The pilot program will be able to cover more areas with a higher concentration of industries and will be better equipped with support systems," said Liu Haiquan.