New Measures to Provide More Convenience for Foreign Nationals

China’s State Council, the cabinet, issued a broad plan to attract foreign investment on Tuesday, with targeted measures including facilitating travel for business personnel, employees in foreign-invested enterprises and their families, providing more convenience for foreign nationals to work and live in the country.

For foreign-invested enterprises, the validity period of visas for management personnel, technical personnel, accompanying spouses, and underage children is extended to 2 years.

Optimizing the process for obtaining work permits and work-related residence permits for foreigners. Adopting a “one-stop acceptance, parallel approval” approach to establish a more efficient approval mechanism.

Strengthening inter-departmental coordination to provide convenience for foreign talents to work, stay, or permanently reside in China.

It will provide more opportunities for foreign investors to enter and participate in the Chinese market through expanded access and reduce their operating costs.

For other highlights, China will also accelerate the resumption of international flights at key aviation hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The action plan also encourages foreign firms to expand investment in high-tech industries and grants foreign investment certain policy support for participating in key semiconductor, biomedicine and high-end equipment projects.

Support will be given to foreign-invested enterprises to participate equally in national key research and development programs and other national science and technology programs.

China will expand the entry of foreign financial institutions into the banking and insurance sectors, broaden the scope of foreign financial institutions participating in the domestic bond market, and further implement the pilot program for qualified overseas limited partners to invest in China, according to the plan.

Source: Expat Focus