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Opinions of the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province on Stabilizing Foreign Investment Issued
Date: 2022-07-06 15:37 Source: www.zj.gov.cn

([2020] No. 10 issued by the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province)

People’s governments of all cities, counties (cities and districts) and units directly under the provincial government:

In order to implement the spirit of the Opinions of the State Council on Further Effectively Utilizing Foreign Investment ([2019] No. 23 issued bu the state), optimize the foreign investment environment, stabilize and expand the utilization of foreign capital, and improve the quality of foreign investment utilization, the following opinions are hereby offered.

1. Further relaxing market access for foreign capital

It is necessary to fully implement the same pre-entry treatment as domestic investment plus a negative list management system for foreign investment. (The Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province are in charge. The first unit is the lead unit hereinafter.) It is necessary to actively guide foreign capital to participate in the “four major constructions” of the province, encourage foreign investment in the digital economy, life and health, new materials, aerospace, etc., and strive to take the lead in replicating the comprehensive pilot policy of expanding and opening up the service industry in Beijing. (The Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) It is necessary to accelerate the implementation of the state’s opening-up policies for foreign-funded banks, securities companies, insurance companies, fund management companies and other financial industries, and strive to take the lead in implementation in the province. (The Hangzhou Central Sub-branch of the People’s Bank of China, the Local Financial Supervision Bureau of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau, Ningbo Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, and Ningbo Securities Regulatory Bureau are in charge)

2. Focusing on characteristic industries to accelerate the construction of high-capacity open platforms

1) Accelerating the construction of open platforms such as China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone. It is necessary to promote the construction of China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Pilot Free Trade Zone) and the Joint Innovation Zone of the Pilot Free Trade Zone, and promote the delegation of provincial economic management authority. It is necessary to attract foreign entities, trade, finance and other multinational companies and institutions related to the oil and gas industry to participate in the construction of the entire oil and gas industry chain in the Pilot Free Trade Zone, in order to form a capital and industrial agglomeration effect. (The Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province and the Management Committee of Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone are in charge) It is necessary to accelerate the construction of various open platforms such as high-quality foreign investment agglomeration pilot zones, international industrial cooperation parks, and overseas M&A industrial cooperation parks, and vigorously develop aerospace, auto parts, featured industries such as integrated circuits, oil and gas fine chemicals, biomedicine, digital trade, and technology finance, which are given preferential support in project application, land use, energy use, and pollutant discharge. (The Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Natural Resources of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, the Local Financial Supervision Bureau of Zhejiang Province, and the relevant prefecture-level municipal governments are in charge.)

2) Promoting the innovative development of development zones. It is necessary to substantially integrate various development zones, industrial clusters, and industrial parks, create about 20 high-capacity open platforms, and build a number of high-quality development parks for manufacturing. It is necessary to implement the “chain chief system” for the industrial chain of development zones, and strive for the full coverage of international industrial cooperation parks in the national development zones. It is necessary to give play to the role of the Zhejiang-Taiwan Cooperation Week, and strengthen the construction of Taiwan-related industrial parks such as the Zhejiang-Taiwan Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone. (The Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, the Taiwan Affairs Office of Zhejiang Province, the Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Natural Resources of Zhejiang Province, and the relevant prefecture-level municipal governments are in charge.) It is necessary to vigorously promote the innovation of management systems and mechanisms in development zones, and support national development zones to take the lead in innovating management models. It is necessary to carry out pilot reforms of statutory institutions in accordance with statutory authorization and explore a market-oriented open and flexible employment mechanism. (The Department of Commerce are in charge for is in charge)

3. Strengthening factor guarantee for foreign-funded enterprises

1) Increasing precision financial support. It is necessary to assess and provide incentives to service industry projects (except real estate, financial and financial-like projects, the same below) that have attracted actual foreign investment exceeding US$50 million (according to the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce hereinafter), manufacturing projects with a value exceeding US$30 million, multinational company headquarters or regional headquarters projects with a value of more than 10 million US dollars, as well as key open platforms and investment promotion activities. (The Department of Finance of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) The foreign-funded projects included in the provincial, municipal and county mayor projects and major foreign-funded projects that conform to the development orientation of Zhejiang will be given key support in accordance with regulations. (The Department of Finance of Zhejiang Province, the Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province, and the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) The governments at or above the county level should formulate investment facilitation policies in terms of reduction and exemption, land use guarantee, and public service supply for foreign-funded projects that make significant contributions to the promotion of local employment, economic development and technological innovation, within their statutory authority in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations, and implement preferential treatment in finance, taxation, finance, and land use in accordance with the law. (The governments of all cities and counties [city, district] are in charge)

2) Increasing financial support services. It is necessary to give play to the guiding role of government industry funds, and focus on supporting the investment of Fortune 500 companies and global industry leaders in Zhejiang and the returning investment of major cross-border M&A projects in our province. (The Department of Finance of Zhejiang Province, the Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province, and the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) It is necessary to promote the pilot work of cross-border RMB investment facilitation to allow foreign-invested enterprises not to need to submit authenticity certification materials in advance and one by one, and to support foreign-funded enterprises to use RMB in accordance with laws and regulations in China. It is necessary to accelerate the pilot program of facilitating the payment of foreign exchange earnings under capital accounts to allow pilot enterprises not to need to provide authenticity proof materials to banks in advance when handling domestic payments of foreign exchange earnings under capital accounts and RMB funds obtained from foreign exchange settlement. Foreign-funded enterprises are allowed to borrow foreign debts independently by choosing the “betting difference” model or the macro-prudential management model of cross-border financing. It is necessary to promote the decentralization of the cancellation and registration of qualified foreign debts to banks to further shorten the business processing time. (Hangzhou Central Sub-branch of the People’s Bank of China is in charge) It is necessary to support foreign-funded enterprises to list on the main board, the SME board, the ChiNext board, and the Science and Technology Innovation Board in accordance with laws and regulations, expand their financing channels by listing on the “New Third Board” or issuing corporate bonds, and enjoy provincial support policies for domestic and overseas listing, “New Third Board” listing and regional equity market financing of private enterprises. (The Local Financial Supervision Bureau of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau, Ningbo Securities Regulatory Bureau, and the governments of all cities, counties [cities and districts] are in charge.)

3) Strengthening the guarantee of elements for foreign-funded projects. The utilization of land by national-level major foreign-funded projects in the charge of special leading groups are assigned by the Ministry of Natural Resources; provincial-level major foreign-funded projects in the charge of special leading groups are given priority to be included in the provincial major industrial projects, their land use is guaranteed by the province, their pollutant discharge is guaranteed by the provincial allocation mechanism, and their energy consumption is coordinated by the province and cities. (The Department of Natural Resources of Zhejiang Province, the Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province, and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) Standard workshops built by foreign-funded enterprises that meet the regulations are allowed to register and transfer independently with buildings and floors as basic units according to the land transfer contract. Foreign-funded enterprises that lease industrial land can go through the planning and construction application procedures by presenting the land lease contract and payment certificate signed with the natural resources authority. During the lease period, the above-ground buildings, structures and their ancillary facilities can be sublet and mortgaged according to law. Manufacturing foreign-funded enterprises that use existing industrial real estate to develop productive service industries and build maker spaces, innovation workshops and other mass-creation spaces may use the land within 5 years according to the original purpose and type of land rights and follow relevant regulations after the expiration of the 5-year period. (The Department of Natural Resources of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Construction of Zhejiang Province are in charge.)

4. Supporting R&D and innovation of foreign-funded enterprises

1) Supporting the development of foreign-funded R&D institutions. Foreign-funded R&D institutions participating in the construction of public service platforms for R&D and government science and technology projects in our province shall enjoy the same treatment as domestic-funded R&D institutions. Foreign-funded R&D institutions that meet the requirements for provincial-level new R&D institutions shall be supported in accordance with regulations. It is necessary to intensify efforts to introduce global industry leading enterprises to set up new innovative carriers with independent legal persons in Zhejiang. (The Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Finance of Zhejiang Province are in charge.)

2) Optimizing scientific and technological innovation services for foreign-funded enterprises. It is necessary to strengthen the guidance and services for foreign-funded enterprises to apply for high-tech enterprise certification, strengthen the linkage between provinces, cities and counties, and strengthen policy guidance, training and interpretation. It is necessary to optimize the application process of high-tech enterprises, use the “Science and Technology Brain” data sharing service platform, promote the data connection between the provincial online application platforms and the national platforms, improve the level of information sharing, and reduce the application burden of foreign-funded enterprises. (The Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province is in charge.)

3) Implementing tax incentives for R&D and innovation of foreign-funded enterprises. When importing scientific research and technological development supplies that cannot be produced in China or whose performance cannot meet their needs, qualified foreign-funded R&D centers are exempted from import duties, import value-added taxes, and consumption taxes according to regulations, and are fully refunded value-added taxes on purchases of domestic equipment; when importing R&D equipment, reagents, and samples, they can choose to declare the customs clearance mode in advance. Qualified foreign-invested enterprises in the Comprehensive Bonded Zone are allowed to import tangible materials, reagents, consumables, and samples for R&D businesses. (Hangzhou Customs, Ningbo Customs, and Zhejiang Provincial Taxation Bureau are in charge.) When providing technology transfer, technology development, and related technical consulting, technical services, etc., foreign-funded enterprises that meet the conditions can be exempted from VAT according to regulations. (Zhejiang Provincial Taxation Bureau is in charge.)

5. Improving convenience for foreign businessmen to work in Zhejiang

1) Providing convenient services for work visas for foreigners coming to Zhejiang. It is necessary to implement the 12 immigration and entry-exit facilitation policies of the National Immigration Administration in detail. It is necessary to provide convenient services for permanent residence for foreign high-level talents, foreign Chinese with doctoral degrees or long-term work in key national development areas, foreign talents with significant outstanding contributions and meeting special needs of the country, and foreigners who work in Zhejiang for a long time and meet the annual income and tax standards. Long-term visas will be issued for foreign talents invited by key domestic universities, scientific research institutes, and well-known enterprises to come to Zhejiang to engage in technical cooperation, economic and trade activities and work in Zhejiang, as well as foreign high-level talent teams and auxiliary personnel, in accordance with regulations. It is necessary to provide visa facilitation services for outstanding foreign students graduated from domestic key universities, internationally renowned universities, and foreign students invited by domestic well-known enterprises and institutions to come to Zhejiang for internships. (The Public Security Department of Zhejiang Province is in charge.)

2) Optimizing the management service process for foreigners working in Zhejiang. It is necessary to promote the online processing of all work permit applications for foreign high-end talents, fully adopt the “notification + commitment” model, expand the scope of vacancy acceptance, further simplify business processes, and shorten the time limit for approval. It is necessary to further deepen the pilot program of “one-stop acceptance and parallel processing”, and incorporate foreigners’ work permits and work-type residence permits into “one matter” processing. Different management processes and service modes are adopted for different types of foreign personnel, so as to open up efficient and convenient green channels for foreign high-end talents to work in Zhejiang. For foreign experts who hold the “Invitation Letter for Foreign Experts to China” and “Confirmation Letter for Foreign High-end Talents”, the policy of granting visas at the entry port is implemented; foreign experts who have entered the country with other types of visa documents can directly apply for the “Work Permit for Foreigners” and “Work and Residence Permit for Foreigners.” (The Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Public Security of Zhejiang Province, and the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Zhejiang Province are in charge.)  It is necessary to study and formulate relevant regulations for recognizing the insurance certificates provided by foreign annuity institutions. (The Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Zhejiang Province are in charge.)

6. Increasing investment promotion efforts

1) Strengthening the team building of investment promotion agencies. It is necessary to establish and improve a global investment promotion network, encourage local governments to set up investment promotion windows in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other cities, and select outstanding leaders to build up the investment promotion team. It is necessary to accelerate the dispatch of business representatives in developed countries and regions such as Europe, America and Japan. It is necessary to strengthen the network construction of overseas liaison offices and friendly business (association) associations, integrate the network resources of overseas Zhejiang businessmen and overseas Chinese businessmen, and give full play to the role of Zhejiang businessmen and overseas Chinese businessmen in investment promotion. (The Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, the Council for the Promotion of International Trade of Zhejiang Province, and the governments of all cities and counties (cities and districts) are in charge.)

2) Actively carrying out investment promotion activities. It is necessary to innovate the ways and means of attracting investment, give full play to the advantages of Internet platforms, and actively carry out activities such as online investment promotion conferences, negotiation conferences, and signing conferences. (The governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.) It is necessary to encourage all localities to give priority to the application of overseas (border) investment promotion groups, and provide green channel services for business travel (border) approval, license and visa processing for investment promotion groups that really need it. (The Foreign Affairs Office of Zhejiang Province and the governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.) All localities may, according to the level of local economic development, reasonably set investment promotion funds, formulate foreign business reception standards, and regulate foreign business reception activities. (The governments of all cities and counties [city and district] are in charge.)

3) Improving the level of investment promotion services. It is necessary to accelerate the construction of a “single window”" for international investment, improve the whole-process tracking service system for key foreign investment projects, draw a map of the province’s industries for attracting foreign investment, regularly compile and publish various guidelines for foreign investment and white papers on foreign investment environment, and publish relevant laws and regulations on foreign investment, policies and regulations, industry development trends, project information, etc., to provide services and convenience for foreign investors. (The Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, the Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province, and the governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.)

4) Increasing incentives for investment promotion. All localities can implement more flexible incentive measures for non-civil servant positions in the investment promotion team according to the actual situation, and establish a “guarantee + incentive” salary system. Innovative investment promotion team selection and employment methods, upon approval, can implement the appointment system, performance appraisal system, etc., allowing the implementation of part-time salary system, annual salary system, negotiated salary system, and other remuneration methods. (The governments of all cities and counties [city and district] are in charge.)

7. Optimizing the business environment for foreign investment

1) Protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises. It is necessary to regulate the behaviors of attracting investment in various places, strictly fulfill the policy commitments made by foreign investors and foreign-funded enterprises in accordance with the law, earnestly perform various contracts signed in accordance with the law in activities such as attracting investment, and strictly implement the national compensation system. (The governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.) It is necessary to improve the legal environment to support the development of foreign-funded enterprises, do a good job in the review of foreign investment rights protection cases, and promote fair competition between domestic and foreign investment. It is necessary to regularly publish typical cases of foreign investment rights protection. It is necessary to improve the complaint mechanism for foreign-funded enterprises, improve the complaint-handling network for foreign-funded enterprises, and properly handle the complaints of various foreign-funded enterprises. (The Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province and the governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.) 

2) Implementing foreign-funded enterprises as their domestic counterparts. When formulating policies such as government procurement, standard setting, land supply, tax reduction and exemption, qualification licensing, project application, professional title accreditation, human resource management, etc., as well as policies and measures to support enterprise development in response to emergencies such as earthquakes and infectious diseases, we should treat foreign-funded enterprises equally in accordance with the law, and should not adopt discriminatory differential policies. (The governments of all cities and counties [city and district] are in charge.)

3) Optimizing the approval procedures and information reporting channels for the planned land use of foreign-funded projects. The online approval and supervision platforms for investment projects (version 3.0) shall be fully launched, the “standard land” system for industrial projects shall be comprehensively promoted, the “multi-examination and multi-certification in one” approval reform for planning land shall be promoted, and the planning site selection and land use approval procedures of foreign-funded projects shall be optimized, to speed up the construction and operation of foreign-funded projects. (The Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Natural Resources of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) It is necessary to implement “multiple reports in one” for the annual reports of foreign-funded enterprises. (The Marketing Regulation Administration of Zhejiang Province, the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, and Hangzhou Central Sub-branch of the People’s Bank of China are in charge.) 

4) Providing convenience for foreign businessmen to seek medical treatment and schooling for their children. For the children of high-level talents (including senior management personnel and high-end R&D talents) of foreign-funded enterprises who need to enroll in kindergartens or primary and secondary schools in the province, the local government shall coordinate with relevant schools to provide convenience. (The governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.) It is necessary to improve the international medical service system, vigorously introduce international medical institutions and international medical management teams, improve the review system for new medical service prices, and speed up the acceptance and review of new medical service items. (The Health Commission of Zhejiang Province, the Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province, and the Medical Insurance Bureau of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) It is necessary to accelerate the internationalization of the city, coordinate the construction of schools for children of foreign personnel and multicultural exchange platforms in places where conditions permit, and build an international future community. (The Department of Education of Zhejiang Province and the governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.)

8. Strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights of foreign-funded enterprises

It is necessary to establish and improve the rapid collaborative protection of intellectual property rights and joint credit punishment mechanisms, actively promote the construction of China (Zhejiang) intellectual property protection centers, research and service centers, etc., and accelerate the layout and construction of a number of intellectual property protection centers and rapid rights protection centers. It is necessary to further improve the diversified resolution mechanism for property disputes, protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese and foreign intellectual property rights holders equally in accordance with the law, and encourage foreign-funded enterprises to participate in the formation of intellectual property industry alliances. It is necessary to actively play the role of China Patent Law Enforcement and Rights Protection Coordination and Scheduling Center (Zhejiang) in the field of e-commerce, and organize special actions for patent protection in the field of e-commerce. It is necessary to explore and carry out early warning of trademark squatting overseas, strengthen the guidance for overseas trademark rights protection, and encourage the first trial of insurance businesses such as intellectual property rights overseas infringement liability insurance. (The Market Regulation Administration of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau, and Ningbo Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau are in charge.)

9. Strengthening the guarantee of stabilizing foreign investment

All localities should establish and improve the working mechanism for stabilizing foreign investment, and timely coordinate and solve major problems encountered in the promotion, protection and management of foreign investment in the region. (The governments of all cities and counties [cities and districts] are in charge.) It is necessary to establish a special leading group mechanism for major foreign investment projects at the provincial, city and county levels, recommend foreign investment projects of more than 1 billion US dollars to be included in the national major foreign investment projects under the supervision of special leading groups, and strive for national policy support. The foreign-funded projects above USD 500 million are included in the provincial projects under the supervision of special leading groups, and are given priority to be included in the provincial major industrial projects. The foreign investment projects of 100 million to 300 million U.S. dollars are recommended to be included in the city- and county-level projects under the supervision of special leading groups, and are recommended to be included in the provincial major industrial projects. It is necessary to recommend major foreign-funded projects to be included in the provincial, municipal and county mayor projects. (The Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province are in charge.) It is necessary to improve the provincial working mechanism for utilizing foreign capital, and hold round table meetings for foreign-funded enterprises on a regular basis. (The Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province and the Department of Development and Reform Commission of Zhejiang Province are in charge.)


The People’s Government of Zhejiang Province

May 18, 2020

(This document can be publicly released)

Notice: This English version is only for reference.

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