The second article in China Insights’ publication series with Vereniging Nederland China (VNC), the Dutch-China business association, is now live: “Navigating China’s Foreign Investment System.”

Where the first article addressed the new procurement rules, this piece steps back to the bigger picture: how foreign companies actually determine whether, and under what conditions, they’re allowed to invest in China at all. We walk through the regulatory architecture built since the 2020 Foreign Investment Law, and make the case that the law itself is only the entry point, not the full picture.

The article maps out the layers investors need to check before committing to a project:

• The national and free-trade-zone negative lists, which determine whether a sector is prohibited, restricted, or open. Noting that FTZs often permit activities still closed on the mainland.

• The Catalogue of Encouraged Foreign Investment, which identifies sectors eligible for tax incentives, favorable land terms, or faster approvals.

• The Negative Market Access List, covering the permits, certifications, and technical standards required even once an investment is allowed.

• The Catalogue for Industrial Restructuring, which signals China’s longer-term industrial direction by sorting sectors into encouraged, limited, and phase-out categories.

The column’s core argument: a viable China investment strategy requires reading these instruments together, not in isolation: A sector that clears the negative list can still carry hidden friction further down the chain, while the Restructuring Catalogue offers a preview of where Beijing’s support (or scrutiny) is headed next.

Missed the first article? Read New Procurement Rules Offer New Opportunities for our analysis of China’s new domestic-product standards in government procurement.

The third and final article in the series, ‘Made in China’: identifying the localization criteria China is establishing per industry sector, will follow once sector-specific standards are finalized.

Read the full article on VNC’s website: https://www.vnc-china.nl/en/navigating-chinas-foreign-investment-system/