China promises greater market openness in emerging industries

BEIJING -- China is set to remove more entry barriers in emerging industries by leveraging special policy tools to facilitate the application of new technologies, the country's top economic planner said Friday.

Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference that pilot programs will be implemented in key areas to spearhead this effort, and special measures to ease market access will be introduced in stages.

Li addressed an opinion document released on Aug. 21 concerning improving the market access system. Elaborating on its highlights, Li said it is the first of its kind to focus on ten emerging industries, including aerospace, aviation, new energy and artificial intelligence.

He added that it aims to remove key obstacles to deep industry transformation and enhance the innovative allocation of production factors to improve access efficiency.

As disruptive technologies rapidly advance, unclear entry rules and overly strict access management currently existing in emerging industries highlight the need for improving regulations, Li said, underscoring the need to ease access restrictions to support the industries' development.

He explained that market access management for emerging fields cannot solely rely on traditional approval models. Instead, it should leverage market mechanisms guided by standards and scenarios to create a more flexible and resilient management system.

Noting that some barriers between innovations and industrial systems hinder market entry, he said the document urged using advanced technology application centers and various innovation platforms to transform more groundbreaking technological innovations into tangible productivity.

He also called for key enterprises and research institutions to actively participate in setting international rules and standards regarding market access.

Li said the document further refines negative list management, sets clear-cut access rules, enhances coordination between domestic and foreign investment access policies, and optimizes entry for new industries.

It strengthens support for a nationwide unified negative list, ensuring consistency, standardization and enforcement to safeguard equal market entry for businesses better.

Li noted that entry restrictions in the service sector will be gradually eased in areas where national security and social stability are not compromised and where market competition can enhance supply quality.

Looking ahead, Li concluded that the commission will collaborate with other departments to implement the opinion document, optimize the market access environment, and boost market expectations.