CHINA, THE LEGISLATION ON FOREIGN INVESTMENTS WILL BE REVIEWEDI
Beijing could put it under the same legislative umbrella all companies operating in Chinaregardless of ownership. Many high-level officials are urging this solution. “We should ensure equal treatment of local and foreign-owned companies operating in mainland China and mark an important advance in Chinese corporate governance,” recently recommended Wang Zhile, senior foreign investment researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank of the Ministry of Commerce.
The Chinese parliament has confirmed that will try to speed up the process in view of a modernization of corporate law and that he will propose a draft “as soon as the time is right”. Qiu Guangling, director of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration of the Ministry of Commerce added: "This time the review aims to unify domestic laws and the treatment of foreign companies, strengthening security controls and carrying out the necessary reforms." In a recent statement, the US-China Business Council had asked Chinese lawmakers to consider eliminating certain terminology, such as "foreign-invested enterprises" because "the use of this term invites differential treatment for a number of companies domestic, based solely on property".
In a reform plan unveiled last year, China's central government promised to expand access to investment, unify the legislative treatment of companies operating in China and maintain transparent foreign investment policies.
