China mulls easing restrictions on foreign investment

BEIJING - Chinese authorities are considering revising the country's guidance catalogue for foreign investment, cutting the number of restrictive measures to 62 from the previous 93.

The country's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, on Wednesday published a revision draft on its website to seek public opinion on the changes.

The easing rules on foreign investment came amid government efforts to push use of the "negative list" approach, which identifies sectors and businesses that are off-limits or restricted for investment.

The "negative list" approach is a common practice adopted in many countries to manage foreign investment. China first piloted the rules in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone in 2013.

Earlier official data showed foreign direct investment (FDI) to the Chinese mainland rose 4.2 percent year on year to reach 666.3 billion yuan ($96.8 billion) in the first ten months of the year.