China cuts illicit investments, aims to bypass US tariffs

The negative list, which was first published in 2018, is subject to more scissors. Investments deemed prohibited by China, both for foreign and domestic operators. a kind of “giveaway” for investors, especially in the services and finance sector; The NDRC released it on the same day that trade treaty negotiators met via video link after the Zurich talks between top US and Chinese diplomatic leaders Catherine Tai and Liu He. Beijing aims to scrap the huge tariffs slapped on the legacy of the Trump era that are still in effect.

New scissors cut opportunities

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce reviewed the list of prohibited investments by foreign and Chinese companies that were introduced in 2018 and have been updated periodically since then.

Comments can be made until next Thursday, when the list becomes final. What matters is that anything not on the list can be an investment target. In this way, China overcame the old classification of investments carried out through an investment catalog that included, instead, those allowed.

In keeping with the latest developments in the Chinese government, however, a ban on investing in cryptocurrencies and private media has been imposed: a ban, the latter, which is a novelty for companies in Beijing.

Video call between negotiators Tai and Hei

The timing of the release of the new list is remarkable: It was announced on the day of the virtual meeting between Vice Premier Liu He and United States Trade Representative Catherine Tai, a meeting that Washington has described as a “test” for understanding whether participation can help solve the problem of business practices. in Beijing.