China passes new law to help foreign firms after positive feedback from US in trade talks
- The law, which will come into effect on January 1 next year, aims to create a ‘stable, fair, transparent and predictable’ business environment
- A draft of the regulation was provided to US trade negotiators during talks in Washington earlier this month and received a warm response
China has passed a new law aimed at cutting red tape and levelling the playing field for foreign firms operating in the country, after a draft copy received positive feedback from the United States, a key member of China’s trade negotiation team said on Wednesday.
“It is an open document and both sides exchange open documents,” said Ning, who is also deputy chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission and the chief of the National Bureau of Statistics. “We were negotiating on an equal base. The reaction [from the US] was very good.”
The draft regulation, which was released for feedback in July, was among a number of policy documents China exchanged with US negotiators to show Beijing was taking steps to streamline its business environment and become more friendly to foreign firms, Ning said.
Under the new regulation, China will stick to a market-oriented direction to create a “stable, fair, transparent and predictable” business environment, according to the state-owned Xinhua News Agency. It will also fully protect the autonomy, property rights and other legitimate interests of businesses.
But by taking steps to enhance intellectual property rights and become more business friendly, China is expecting Washington to reciprocate by improving its treatment of Chinese businesses in the US, Ning said.