Beijing-Sana
The National Development and Reform Commission of China announced the creation of rules for reviewing foreign investment for reasons related to protecting the country's national security.
Reuters quoted the committee as saying that the review system covers foreign investment in the military sectors and the acquisition of controlling stakes in sectors such as energy, natural resources, agriculture, internet technology and financial services.
"By tightening protection against security risks, China can lay solid foundations for a new round of openness, wider and deeper," the committee said, adding that "this is in line with international practices and will help balance the economic benefits of more openness and the need to ensure national security."
She explained that "spreading investment rules is not a retreat from openness policies," stressing that "openness without protection is not sustainable."
The new system will establish a body dedicated to security reviews headed by the National Committee and the Ministry of Commerce and will follow the rules that come into effect within 30 days of the Foreign Investment Law that was published last year with the aim of expanding foreign investors' access to the markets.
The announcement comes as outgoing US President Donald Trump escalates his provocative policies against China as Washington added dozens of Chinese companies to the trade blacklist yesterday.