Global Trade Alert

On 5 May 2015, the State Council approved the "Beijing Municipality Comprehensive Pilot Programme for Expanding Opening Up in the Service Industry." The programme aims to open up service industries to foreign investment into China. 
 
Based on the programme statement, several liberalizing policies to foreign company/investment are introduced:

1. Technology services:
   1. R&D sector: cancel the sales requirement for setting up industrial design services.
   2. Transportation sector: cancel minimum Chinese capital share requirement to set up airplane maintenance services. 
2. Cultural services: allow independent foreign entertainment services to operate in certain selected areas (not yet specified).
3. Financial services:
   1. Banking sector: allow foreign banks to set up branches in the pilot zone.
   2. Insurance sector: allow foreign health insurance providers to set up JVs with a maximum foreign share of 50%.
4. Business services: 
   1. Allow foreign firms to set up independent financial credit rating organizations.
   2. Professionals from Hong Kong and Macao with Chinese CPA are allowed to set up accounting services JVs.
   3. Allow foreign firms to own a maximum of 70% of the in newly established professional HR service providers, and decrease their paid-in capital from USD 300,000 to USD 125,000. 
   4. Allow foreign firms to set up JVs in tourism services in the pilot zone.
5. Health services: Ease the registration process to set up medical services in the pilot zone. 

 
Note: the affected trading partners are selected based on the report "Jan - April 2015 FDI Statistic" from the Ministry of Commerce, published on 8 June 2014. These countries contributed a total of 95.3% FDI in China during that period.