China to make forced technology transfer illegal as Beijing tries to woo back foreign investors
- Issue a key demand made by US President Donald Trump as part of the ongoing US-China trade war
- China expected to pass new foreign investment law next week during National People’s Congress
Beijing will make it illegal to force foreign investors to transfer their technology to Chinese partners while also lowering market barriers for foreign firms to enter the domestic market, a senior economic planning official said on Wednesday, highlighting an effort to lure overseas investment inflows.
China is expected to pass a new law next week intended to protect the interests of foreign investors, both as a response to demands from the United States that have formed part of the ongoing trade war negotiations, and to help shore up economic growth, which slowed last year to its lowest rate in 28 years.
Foreign investors will be allowed to set up ventures in which they have full ownership, instead of being forced into joint ventures with local partners, in more industries, said Ning Jizhe, a vice-chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, in Beijing on Wednesday during the National People’s Congress.
In addition, China will set up a special task force to facilitate “key” projects like electric-car maker Tesla’s new factory in Shanghai or BASF’s new chemical complex in Guangdong, both of which are solely owned by the foreign company.
China’s leadership has listed foreign investment as one of the six areas that it must “stabilise” in 2019, along with employment, growth, trade, domestic investment and market expectations.