Ministries need to be more specific about rules for private investment

On 7 May 2010, the State Council published Several Opinions on Encouraging and Guiding the Healthy Development of Private Investment, the so-called “New 36 Initiatives for the Non-public Sectors”. Under the opinions, 36 policies and measures were proposed to encourage private capital to invest in such sectors as infrastructure, environment, resources and energy. Ministries under the State Council have introduced at least 15 sets of implementing rules for the New 36 Initiatives, covering transportation, municipal utilities, railway, land resources and other areas.

Deregulating infrastructure

The Ministry of Railways, dubbed the last conservative unit in the transport sector, has issued the Implementing Opinions on Encouraging and Guiding Private Capital to Invest in Railways, which makes it clear that the sector will be fully opened to private capital by encouraging private capital to invest in: the construction of a variety of railway lines; railway passenger and freight transport services; the innovation of railway technology; and the revamping and reorganisation of railway enterprises for non-transport purposes.

With respect to the highway and waterway sector, the Ministry of Transport has issued the Implementing Opinions on Encouraging and Guiding Private Capital to Invest in the Highway and Waterway Transportation Sector to encourage private capital to fully participate in the construction, maintenance, operation and management of transport infrastructure, and to gain access to the transport service sector and the transport emerging businesses.

Wang Jihong is the managing partner at V&T Law Firm, and Xie Yi is a partner at the firm