China Laws and Regulations Update in March 2019
1.The Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China
Co-promulgated by the National People’s Congress
Promulgation date: 15 March 2019
Implementation date: 1 January 2020
This law will replace the Sino-Foreign Joint Venture Law, Foreign Funded Enterprise Law and Sino-Foreign Business Cooperation Law to be the legal basis for foreign investment in China. According to this law, organizational forms and structures of foreign funded businesses and their course of action should be governed by the Company Law, the Partnership Law and relevant laws, provided that foreign funded businesses set up before the implementation of this law may continue existing in their original organizational form. Foreign investment means direct or indirect investment made in China by natural people, businesses or other organizations in foreign countries, including establishment of a new business, merger and acquisition, creation of a new project and other forms of investment; Capital contributions, profits, capital gains, earnings relating to assets disposal, royalties from licensed use of intellectual property rights, legal redress or compensation, earnings relating to liquidation, etc. can be transferred in RMB into China or transferred in foreign currency out of China. The Chinese government protects intellectual property rights of foreign investors and foreign funded businesses and legal interests of people owning or relating to these intellectual property rights. The Chinese government implements the pre-establishment national treatment and negative list system for foreign investments and follows the principle of treating foreign and domestic investors equally when supervising and administering foreign investments. Foreign investments that will or may affect the national security will be inspected. (Source: Website of the National People’s Congress)