I. Background

On November 18, 2023, the State Council approved the Work Plan for Supporting Beijing in Furthering the Construction of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector. To implement the decisions and arrangements of the  Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council in this regard, and to ensure the implementation of various relevant tasks with the highest standard, the municipal Office of 'Two Zones' Affairs (the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone) requires related municipal authorities to make implementation plans for further developing the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector in key areas and regions. In order to continually advance the opening-up of relevant areas for foreign investment, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce has drafted the Implementation Plan for Promoting Foreign Investment through Furthering the Opening-up of the Services Sector in Beijing (hereinafter referred to as the Plan).

II. Highlights

First, the Plan focuses on foreign investors' concerns. Based on the situation of the "Two Zones" construction in Beijing, we will address the key concerns of foreign investors, further expand opening up, enhance the supply of various factors of production, and improve investment services so as to stabilize foreign investors' expectations and boost their confidence.

Second, the Plan calls for efforts to step up exploration and innovation in line with the city's characteristics. The Plan proposes a range of innovative measures in line with Beijing's characteristics, including making a negative list for outbound data transfer in the pilot free trade zone, supporting eligible medical institutions to carry out clinical trials on stem cells and other areas, issuing the 4.0 version of the catalog recognizing overseas professional qualifications, accelerating the compliance of outbound data transfer for foreign-funded enterprises with pharmaceutical companies as the pilot, and first opening a green channel for such companies' application for outbound data transfer.

Third, the Plan ensures proper alignment with relevant laws and policies. In the making of the Plan, we  drew on the policy documents such as Beijing Foreign Investment Regulations, the 2024 Work Plan for Overall Optimization of the Business Environment to Create a Model for "Beijing Services", and Measures from Beijing to Further Optimize Foreign Investment Environment and Increase Efforts to Attract Foreign Investment. Efforts were also made to align the plan with these documents.

III. Main Content

The Plan is divided into three parts: Overall requirements, Main Tasks and Measures, and Support Measures.

Part One: Overall Requirements. Guidelines: Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will comprehensively implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, fully and accurately implement the new development philosophy, further the construction of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector, support the construction of the 'Two Zones' to further serve and integrate into the new development paradigm, remain committed to opening up wider to the outside world, continuously facilitate foreign investment, and keep optimizing the business environment for foreign investment so as to contribute to the high-level opening-up and high-quality development of Beijing's services sector. Objectives: Aiming at better developing the 'Two Zones', we will increase efforts to promote foreign investment and serve foreign investors, strive to be the first to open up key areas such as telecommunications, data, healthcare, and environmental protection across the country, further enhance our capacity to provide quality services for foreign-invested enterprises, make it easier for the flow of funds and for foreign employees in foreign enterprises to obtain residency in Beijing and expand the influence of the brand of 'Invest in Beijing', enhancing the supporting role of open platforms so as to achieve fundamental optimization and improvement of our business environment for foreign investment.

Part Two: Main Tasks and Measures. The Plan is divided into three parts: Overall Requirements, Main Tasks and Measures, and Support Measures. There are a total of 15 main tasks and measures, covering the opening up of such fields as telecommunications, cross-border data flow, healthcare, and green initiatives, including support services like capital flow and foreign employee residency, as well as the improvement of management service levels.

These tasks are as follows: 1. Improving the administration of foreign investment access; 2. Encouraging the filing of applications for qualifications among foreign-funded enterprises in the telecommunications sector; 3. Enhancing the facilitation level of cross-border data flow; 4. Opening up the healthcare sector wider to foreign investment; 5. Encouraging green and low-carbon development; 6. Strengthening legal protection for foreign investment; 7. Building a higher-level headquarters economy; 8. Expanding the pilot program of foreign exchange management for cross-border investment and financing; 9. Encouraging cooperation in the human resources sector; 10. Optimizing the residency policy for foreign employees; 11. Continuously building the "Invest in Beijing" brand; 12. Implementing the "Global Service Partner Program"; 13. Bringing into full play the supporting role of related platforms; 14. Enhancing the management and service levels for foreign enterprises; 15. Improving the mechanism of information reporting and foreign investment statistics.

Part Three: Support Measures. This part has three aspects: Overall Planning, Communication and Implementation, and Risk Control. By further ensuring measures in these aspects, we aim to achieve high-level opening up and high-quality development of the services sector in Beijing.

IV. Effective Date

This Plan will be implemented from the date of its publication.