Key points on the market access negative list system

The State Council released the Opinions on the Implementation of the Market Access Negative List System on 31 October this year.

Although no concrete negative list is included in the opinions, the State Council laid down requirements on its departments for issues such as how to form and adjust the negative list, and how to implement relevant administrative measures on market access.

It is seen as a signal indicating the government’s attitudes towards market access policies – i.e. what is not prohibited by the law should be permitted.

Below are our views on some key points of the opinions.

Formation of the negative list

The negative list system refers to a series of systems where industries prohibited or restricted in China are specified by the State Council in a list. For industries not included in the negative list, all market entities “may enter on an equal basis according to the law”.