Taiwan Compatriots Investment Protection Law
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China's openness offers new opportunities for overseas investors
Overseas investors are set to embrace a new era of opportunities in China as authorities are determined to liberalize trade and investment rules. China plans to roll out more measures to utilize foreign capital, promote free trade zones and create a negative list for foreign investment, according to a statement released Tuesday after a State Council executive meeting. Last week, China added seven more free trade zones (FTZs) in Chongqing, Henan, Hubei, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang, bringing the total number of FTZs to 11, just three years after the first FTZ, in Shanghai, opened for business. Li Guanghui, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, sees the move as a clear message of determination and confidence from the Chinese central leadership to continue reform and opening up. The new FTZs are proof that China is embracing inclusive growth, building an open world economy and reinvigorating international trade and investment, said Li. Indeed, with restrictions on overseas investors lifted, China is an increasingly attractive destination for overseas investment. In the first half of the year, 13,402 foreign-funded firms were established in China, up 12.5 percent, according to official data. In addition, China is continuing to improve how it regulates foreign investment, in efforts to create a stable, fair and transparent business environment. Days after the announcement of new FTZs, China's top legislature passed revisions to four laws regulating inbound investment, with an easing of the rules for foreign and Taiwanese investors looking to start businesses across the Chinese mainland. Provisions have been added to four laws: on foreign-capital enterprises, on Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures, on Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures, and on the protection of investment of Taiwanese compatriots. The revisions suspend administrative approvals for foreign and Taiwanese investors setting up ventures regulated by the four laws, following successful trials in several FTZs. If businesses are not on a negative list, they are now only required to submit business plans to local regulators. Trials in FTZs have proven to be effective, said Tang Wenhong, director of the Foreign Capital Department of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), adding that the new revisions will create a more open and convenient business environment for investors. In the first seven months of 2016, 5,783 enterprises were set up in the four FTZs by foreign investors and those in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, securing inbound investment of 7.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 66.3 percent, according to the MOC. A survey by the Development Research Center of the State Council, found that over 90 percent of firms said the new changes would help foreign companies to increase investment in China. All respondents believed it was now easier to start a business. With the new openness, overseas investors are upbeat about the Chinese market. Italian firms are very optimistic about their development in China, especially in western regions, said Sergio Maffettone, consul-general of Italy in Chongqing, where one of the new FTZs is located. China has made the opening-up of inland provinces one of its top priorities, said Chi Fulin, director of China Institute for Reform and Development. Central and western provinces have great potential to tap foreign trade as a growth point, which will improve people's wellbeing as well as offering new opportunities to overseas investors, he said. Enidtem
China Eases Key Corporate Filing Requirements Under The Foreign Investment Law.
On October 1, 2016, the Decision of the Standing Committee of the NPC on Revising Four Laws, Including the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises (the “Decision”) came into effect. The Decision replaced the previous “approval filing” system with the new “record filing” system for a number of routine corporate filings for foreign investment enterprises (“FIE”) including establishment, division, merger, dissolution, capital increase, capital reduction, change of contribution mode, extension of operating period, and expansion of business. Additionally, on October 8, 2016, the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) issued the Interim Measures for Record-Filing Administration for Establishment of and Changes to Foreign-Investment Enterprises (the “Interim Measures”) to provide implementation rules for the transfer from “approval filing” to “record filing,” which became effective on the same day. Before being amended by the Decision, the four foreign investment laws (i.e., the Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law, the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Law on the Protection of Investment of Taiwan Compatriots) provided that material corporate matters such as the establishment of an FIE, change of equity ownership, change of business scope, consolidation and split, and extension of the business term trigger an approval filing. The Decision replaces the prior approval filing with a record filing if special restriction measures are not implicated. According to the Announcement of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce [2016] No. 22, which also come into effect on October 8, 2016, the application scope of “special restriction measures” refers to the catalogue of restricted and prohibited foreign investment industries as well as encouraged industries with restrictions on shareholding structure and senior management under the Catalogue for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries (Revised in 2015) (“Catalogue”). If the contemplated scope of business of an FIE does not fall into the above industries in the Catalogue, MOFCOM approval will no longer be required and a record filing will be sufficient. According to the Interim Measures, this new record filing system shortens the processing time for the establishment, division, merger, dissolution, capital increase, capital reduction, change of contribution mode, extension of operating period, and expansion of business scope of foreign-invested enterprises not triggering special restriction measures to only three (3) working days once all documents required for the record filing are submitted. Also, the number of required documents for the record filing is greatly reduced. This modification in the FIE laws will improve efficiencies in the corporate filing process and enhance the stability of the foreign investment in China. As different officers from different regions can have different understandings of the relevant laws and regulations, the previous approval filing system could be quite subjective, and whether a filing can be approved can often be uncertain. Although the record-filing system cannot completely eliminate the uncertainty, it is expected that the most recent change will introduce additional efficiency and predictability into the process.
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《修订台胞投资保护法 让台湾同胞在大陆更安心》
《台胞投资保护法》及其实施细则自颁布实施以来已经有20多年了，台籍全国人大代表张晓东在接受采访时表示，在实际工作当中，在具体实践中该法确实存在法律环境滞后，不能反映台湾同胞的新诉求，可操作性不强这些问题。 我国于1994年、1999年分别颁布《台胞投资保护法》及其实施细则，对保护台湾同胞的投资权益和促进两岸经济发展产生了积极的作用。然而这部法律至今已经有20多年了，在实际工作当中，在具体实践中存在法律环境滞后，不能反映台湾同胞的新诉求，可操作性不强这些问题。 张晓东代表表示，从市场经济角度来讲，市场经济本身就是契约经济、法治经济，台湾同胞投资权益保护的法治化，是市场经济和全面依法治国的根本要求，也是台商权益的根本保障。 张晓东代表表示近年来，代表们深入基层调研，发现问题，总结经验，重点梳理多年来的惠台政策，并实地了解台胞新的诉求。台湾团也在积极推动全国人大常委会及其相关部门在充分调研、开展执法检查的基础上，适时的修订《中华人民共和国台湾同胞投资保护法》及实施条例，让台湾同胞在大陆工作、生活、兴业更放心、更舒畅、更安心。
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Examples
1 China has reviewed several inbound investment laws, including Taiwanese Compatriots Investment Protection Law
2 Taiwanese Compatriots Investment Protection Law promotes the trade relationship between two sides.
3 Taiwanese Compatriots Investment Protection Law has made tremendous contribution to the development of the business relationship.