China has launched a new, comprehensive action plan aimed at stabilizing foreign investment amid a sustained decline in inflows. Issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the plan outlined 15 measures to expand market access across services, finance, healthcare and other sectors while improving the quality and structure of foreign investment. The central government would open the door wider to foreign firms seeking opportunities in these sectors, the ministries stated, including allowing overseas participation in vocational training institutions and top-tier universities specializing in science, engineering, agriculture and medicine. Investors from Hong Kong and Macao would be granted earlier and broader access to mainland China’s services market, they said.
The Chinese government has repeatedly pledged to expand market access for foreign investors, with President Xi Jinping and other top officials urging “high-level opening up” in speeches and articles. Under the new plan, the financial sector would be opened further by allowing more foreign institutions to use risk management tools, including treasury bond futures, and by supporting foreign firms in providing fund investment advisory services. Key foreign firms would also be encouraged to go public and raise funds on mainland stock markets and would be offered quotas to ease cross-border financing, according to the plan.
The ministries called for the “full implementation of national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises, especially in government procurement and tendering, adding that such firms would also be encouraged to take part in government campaigns to boost consumer spending. “Except where explicitly stipulated by laws or involving national security, all support policies formulated in various fields shall automatically apply equally and without discrimination to foreign-invested enterprises. The fair competition review system shall be strictly implemented in areas such as government procurement and bidding,” the ministries said in the action plan. They also vowed to intensify efforts to attract foreign companies to establish research and development centers, as Chinese policymakers push a more tech-driven growth model.
Pilot free trade zones (FTZs) and pilot cities would be supported in developing negative lists for cross-border data transfers covering more sectors. Tax incentives would be implemented for overseas investors who reinvest distributed profits directly in China. In the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, the ministries pledged to expand pilot zones for foreign investment in biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, building on facilities already approved in programs rolled out in eight cities – including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as well as Hainan.
China recorded a years-long decline in foreign direct investment inflows. Total FDI stood at CNY287.6 billion in the first four months of 2026, down 10.3% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Bucking the trend, FDI from the United States was up 24.5% in the same period compared with a year ago. Total FDI stood at CNY747.6 billion in 2025, down 9.5% year-on-year, the South China Morning Post reports.
