Foreign Direct Investment

Scott Yu and Frank Jiang of Zhong Lun Law Firm highlight recently introduced national security measures for review of foreign investments including its broader reach within China, the scope of M&A targets and expanded sectorial coverage, and the new review mechanism coordinated by the NDRC

European Commission publishes full text of China-EU investment deal; PBOC publishes draft rules targeting anti-competitive practices of payment platforms; NPCSC adopts decision launching Beijing Financial Court

Nine more Chinese companies added to U.S. military company list; Commerce Dept. names China a foreign adversary, setting stage for tech transaction restrictions; and EU chamber report cites digital decoupling as biggest threat to EU companies

Foreign investment in important sectors may be subject to national security review

NDRC, MOFCOM launch new national security review for foreign investments; Trump administration adds SMIC and dozens other Chinese entities to Entity List; MSCI drops seven Chinese companies from indices following Trump Executive Order

Scrutiny of Chinese investment in the U.S. is unlikely to ease anytime soon, but a Biden administration is expected to adopt a less abrasive approach than that of his predecessor

U.S.-China investment flows fell to record lows during the Trump administration, but a Biden administration is unlikely to deviate from its predecessor's policy goals

Hong Kong to allow certain overseas-listed Chinese companies with corporate weight voting rights to secondary list; China expected to grow at weakest pace in 44 years according to Reuters poll; and CFFEX approves equity index futures trading for qualified foreign investors

Shenzhen is spearheading reforms in capital account liberalization and promoting RMB internationalization