Nation cuts market access negative list down to 117

Employees work on the production line of a foreign funded electronics company in Hai'an, Jiangsu province. China unveiled a new, shortened negative list for market access on Friday, opening more industries to Chinese and foreign investment, according to the country's top economic regulator. "Continuously shortening the negative list highlights the government's ongoing efforts to relax market access, which will help give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources and build a new system for a higher-level, open economy," said Cui Weijie, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. Cui said that he believes the government will continue to shorten the negative list and expand market access and that the government should make a big push to transform government functions and improve the business climate. The NDRC and Ministry of Commerce, while requiring more steps to improve the market access system that is in line with the negative list, called for strengthening the anti-monopoly push and preventing disorderly capital expansion.