China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have jointly released the 2026 Action Plan for Stabilising and Optimising Foreign Investment, comprising 20 specific measures across market access, financial support and business environment reform. The plan builds on the 2023 "24 Measures on Attracting Foreign Investment" and targets a further reduction of the national negative list, which was already cut from 31 items in 2021 to 29 items in 2024, with manufacturing access fully liberalised since November 2024.
中国商务部与国家发改委联合发布《2026年稳外资行动方案》，围绕市场准入、金融支持和营商环境改革提出20项具体举措。该方案延续2023年"吸引外资24条"的政策路径，并推动进一步缩减全国外资准入负面清单——该清单已从2021年的31项缩减至2024年的29项，制造业领域限制自2024年11月起全面清零。
| Key Indicator 关键指标 | Before 调整前 | After 调整后 |
|---|---|---|
| Negative list items 负面清单条目 | 31 (2021) | 29 (2024), further cut in 2026 2026年继续缩减 |
| Manufacturing restrictions 制造业限制 | 2 items 2项 | 0 (fully open 全面开放) |
| Telecom pilot cities 电信开放试点城市 | 4 | Expanded to 10+ 扩大至10个以上 |
| Visa-free countries 免签国家 | 38 | Over 50 超过50个 |
The action plan focuses on four operational pillars:
行动方案聚焦四大操作层面：
- Services opening: Pilot programmes for value-added telecom services (IDC, cloud, app stores) expanded from Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen to at least 10 cities, allowing wholly foreign-owned operations in selected segments.
- 电信开放试点：增值电信业务（IDC、云服务、应用商店）外资股比试点从北京、上海、海南、深圳扩大至至少10个城市，部分领域允许外商独资。
- Financial facilitation: Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) pilot schemes extended to more provinces; cross-border RMB settlement for foreign-invested enterprises streamlined to within 3 working days.
- 金融便利化：合格相关合伙人（QFLP）试点扩展至更多省份；外商投资企业跨境人民币结算流程压缩至3个工作日内。
- Government procurement: Foreign-invested enterprises granted equal treatment in central and local government procurement, with complaints required to be resolved within 30 days.
- 政府采购：外资企业平等参与中央和地方政府采购，相关投诉须在30日内处理完毕。
- Data flows: "Whitelist" mechanism for cross-border data transfer in pilot free trade zones, cutting standard security assessment timelines from 60 days to under 30 days for low-risk data.
- 数据跨境：自贸试验区推行数据跨境流动"白名单"机制，低风险数据安全评估时限从60天压缩至30天以内。
The plan sets hard deadlines: by Q2 2026, all pilot telecom licences should be processed under a single-window system; by Q3 2026, provincial governments must publish localised implementation rules; by December 2026, MOFCOM will release a mid-term evaluation against the 2025 actual FDI inflow baseline of USD 116 billion (down 27.1% year-on-year), making the stabilisation target politically urgent.
方案设定明确时间节点：2026年第二季度前，所有电信试点许可实现"单一窗口"受理；2026年第三季度前，各省级政府须出台本地化实施细则；2026年12月前，商务部将对照2025年实际吸收外资1160亿美元（同比下降27.1%）的基线发布中期评估，稳外资目标具有现实的政治紧迫性。
For both foreign firms entering China and Chinese firms structuring outbound deals, the practical takeaways are concrete:
无论外资入华还是中企出海，实操要点如下：
1. Step 1 第一步: If you operate cloud, IDC or digital services, apply for the expanded telecom pilot licence in one of the 10+ pilot cities before Q2 2026 — first movers in Hainan's 2024 pilot received approval within 45 days, versus 6+ months under the old regime.
若从事云、IDC或数字服务业务，应在2026年第二季度前向试点城市申请增值电信牌照——海南2024年首批试点获批仅耗时45天，而旧流程需6个月以上。
2. Step 2 第二步: Review your JV structure against the shortened negative list; manufacturing and most services no longer require a Chinese partner, so converting a 51/49 JV to a WFOE can now be completed in about 30 working days via SAMR registration.
对照缩减后的负面清单核查合资结构：制造业和多数服务业已无需中方伙伴，将51/49合资公司转为外商独资企业，通过市场监管总局登记约30个工作日即可完成。
3. Step 3 第三步: For outbound Chinese firms, expect the same "negative list + facilitation" logic to appear in China's negotiations with the EU and ASEAN in 2026 — structure your overseas entities now to qualify for bilateral mutual-recognition benefits when those frameworks land.
对出海中企而言，预计同样的"负面清单+便利化"逻辑将出现在2026年中欧及中国—东盟谈判中——现在就应搭建境外主体架构，以便相关框架落地时第一时间享受双边互认待遇。
The bottom line: with FDI down 27.1% in 2025, Beijing is trading concrete market access for capital retention — companies that file applications in the first two quarters of 2026 will face the shortest queues and the most flexible regulators.
核心判断：2025年外资流入下降27.1%的背景下，中国正以实质性市场准入换取资本留存——在2026年前两个季度提交申请的企业，将面对最短的排队时间和最灵活的监管态度。
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