New Foreign Investment Opportunities in Western China

On Feb. 17, NDRC and MOFCOM released Catalog of Competitive Industries in Central and Western Regions for Foreign Investment, which goes into effect March 20, 2017. This Catalog covers 22 provincial districts, including the central and western regions, 3 northeastern provinces, and Hainan. Industries in this Catalog also qualify for incentive programs if listed under encouraged industries for foreign investments.

Noteworthy investment opportunities include:
 

• Broadband business and value-added telecommunications business (within the framework of China’s WTO commitments) in 21 provincial districts, including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang
• R&D and manufacturing of intelligent robots in Inner Mongolia, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Sichuan
• Construction of cross-border E-commerce retail centers and commodity import & export logistical distribution centers in Chongqing and Sichuan.