China is prioritizing inbound foreign investment after the State Council passed the 2025 Action Plan to Stabilize Foreign Investment in early February
The plan comes in response to the increasingly complicated international environment, with increased tension and the return of isolationism and protectionism which is encumbering the global economy.
The action plan confirms foreign enterprises’ important role in increasing employment, stabilizing exports and promoting industrial upgrading. It calls for clear understanding of the needs of foreign investors and to devise detailed measures to respond to foreign investors’ concerns about key issues like stock investment and cross-border mergers.
The plan stresses removing restrictions on foreign investors’ entry to the manufacturing industry and to further open the services industry.
Foreign enterprises must receive equal treatment as domestic enterprises in government purchasing, widening their financing channels and improving intellectual property protection, the plan says.
Analysts believe the action plan will help reassure foreign enterprises and attract more inbound foreign investment. Data from China’s Ministry of Commerce showed that in 2024, China saw 59,080 new foreign-invested enterprises established, 9.9 percent more than that in 2023.
Old Version
