The 2021 negative list for foreign investment, to be issued soon, will further relax foreign investment restrictions in manufacturing and other sectors, according to the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. A notice jointly issued by the ministry and the NDRC on Tuesday said that as China's manufacturing sector grows, the country needs to further open up to the world.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, China has basically lifted all restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, eased curbs on foreign investment access to the agricultural sector, and continues to open up more service sectors such as finance, telecommunications, construction, tourism and transportation to foreign investors. Of the 160 sub-sectors classified by the World Trade Organization for trade in services, China has opened up nearly 120.

By widening opening-up, China has become a preferred investment destination for foreign entities. Despite being the world's leading manufacturing hub, however, China is yet to achieve real industrial transformation. In the era of big data and the digital economy, China also needs to make up for its lack of patents and intellectual property rights in the manufacturing sector.

In the post-COVID-19 era, the countries that attract more capital, and expand and strengthen their manufacturing will be more competitive in the global markets. So, having made remarkable progress in containing the pandemic and maintaining its position as a leading driver of global growth, China should now make greater efforts to attract more foreign investment.

China continues to attract global capital because it has been continuously improving its business environment, including by reducing the costs for foreign investors. China introduced a negative list for foreign investment access in 2017, and from 2017 to 2019, it reduced the number of restrictive measures from 93 to 40 for overall investment in the country and 122 to 37 for investment in pilot free trade zones. In 2020, the number of items on the negative list was further reduced from 40 to 33 for overall foreign investment, and 37 to 30 for pilot free trade zones.

A shorter negative list will bring more foreign investment to China's manufacturing sector, reflecting the increasing confidence of not only China but also foreign investors. Only in this way can China's manufacturing sector be further expanded and strengthened and the country's competitive edge be sharpened to realize higher-quality development in the post-pandemic era.