China has outlined 155 tasks aimed at expanding the opening up of its service sector, including further easing restrictions in telecommunications, healthcare, and finance, as part of a newly approved work plan by the State Council.
At a press briefing in Beijing on Monday, officials from the Ministry of Commerce and other relevant departments provided an in-depth explanation of the work plan.
"In the telecommunications sector, the work plan proposes pilot tasks such as removing foreign ownership restrictions on services like app stores and internet access. In the healthcare sector, it suggests supporting foreign doctors in opening clinics, allowing overseas medical professionals to practice for short durations, and supporting the establishment of foreign-funded nursing schools. In the financial sector, the work plan advocates for exploring the development of international factoring business and supporting multinational companies in conducting centralized operation of cross-border funds using the Chinese currency renminbi (or the yuan)," said Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative.
The work plan also touches on the trade, commerce, culture, and tourism sectors, allowing foreign-invested travel agencies to operate outbound tourism businesses. In the transportation sector, it encourages cooperation in areas such as container shipping, interchange and sharing, and explores "door-to-door" transport models to streamline logistics.
"In terms of improving support systems, the work plan proposes pilot tasks in areas such as visa exemption for transit passengers, permanent residency, payment facilitation, and professional qualification recognition to ease the entry, exit, and professional practice of overseas talents in China. It also suggests to promote the alignment and compatibility of rules and standards, particularly in areas such as cross-border data flow, standard-setting, intellectual property, and commercial encryption, with efforts to continuously improve foundational regulations," said Ling.
Ling also emphasized the significance of these initiatives in the current global environment, marked by rising unilateralism and protectionism.
"Against the backdrop of rising unilateralism and protectionism, China is accelerating its pilot program for expanding the opening up of the service sector and orderly expanding independent and unilateral opening up, which are concrete actions to do our own things well and inject more certainty and stability into the world," said the official.
The services sector is a key area for foreign investment in China. In the first quarter of the year, paid-in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the services sector totaled 193.33 billion yuan (about 26.83 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for more than 70 percent of the country's total FDI, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce.
In 2024, the 11 Chinese provinces and cities participating in the pilot programs attracted 293.2 billion yuan in FDI in the services sector, accounting for roughly half of the national total in that category.
China outlines 155 tasks to expand service sector opening up: official
China outlines 155 tasks to expand service sector opening up: official
China outlines 155 tasks to expand service sector opening up: official
