China released new, shortened negative lists for market access on Wednesday, opening more industries for both domestic and foreign investors.
The updated negative list for 2020, jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, indicates areas where investment is prohibited or restricted; all other areas are presumed to be open.
The shortened negative list now comprises 123 items, down from 131 in the 2019 version, clearly demonstrating the country's continued willingness to ease market access and build an efficient, fair and unified domestic market, according to the commission.
The commission said the new list will ease market access to a number of sectors, including the approval of the forest resources asset assessment project and qualification authentication for carbon emissions' rights trading verification institutions.
According to the commission, the new list fully implements the commitment to "one list for the whole country", with a reduction of 18 percent from the 2018 version.
While there existed many varieties of negative listing developed by different provinces in the past, the government has been working hard to strengthen national list integration. During the past three years, the government has canceled 23 negative lists compiled and released by local areas.
