NDRC Issues Draft Regulation on Approval of Investment Projects

On June 12, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued the Regulation on Government Approval and Archiving of Investment Projects (draft for comments) with a comment deadline of June 22. The Regulations state that investment projects will only be subject to an approval review process when they relate to the following areas:

• National security
• Ecological security
• National manufacturing capacity
• Strategical resource development
• Essential public interest

To enable more effective processing and supervision, the government will gradually establish an online system through which the public can check on the status of their respective investment approvals. All projects that do not involve national or commercial secrets will be public and accessible online.