Foreign business rules to be changed
(19 September 2001) Hu Jingyan, director of the Department of Foreign Investment under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), said on Sept. 18 that after joining WTO, China would abolish the three rigid rules on the "percentage of local investment", "balance of foreign currency" and "percentage of products for export" of the enterprises with foreign investment.
Hu said the Chinese government is revising the relevant laws and regulations as it prepares for accession to the World Trade Organization. He said the three major policy barriers have been abolished in accordance with the relevant terms of WTO.
The abolishment of the rules on the "percentage of local investment", "balance of foreign currency" and "percentage of products for export" of the enterprises with foreign investment means that when investing in China, foreign businesses are no longer required to have a certain percentage of the investment from the Chinese party, the Chinese government will no longer implement restrictions on the foreign businesses using foreign currency, and there
will be no rigid rules on the percentage of the products of the enterprises with foreign investment to be exported.
Hu also pointed out that the Chinese government would particularly implement the opening policy in the service and trade sectors, which would cover finance, insurance, telecommunications and commerce. However, regarding the war industry, the ideology field, as well as the traditional industries such as cloisonné, the Chinese government will not open them to the foreign businesses now or in the future.
" Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." ~ William Feather
