China issues plan for expanding service sector opening-up

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Friday issued a plan to further open the country’s service sector, proposing to lift foreign equity ratio restrictions for app store services.

China’s move to lure more foreign investment into its burgeoning services sector comes as government officials pledge to take steps to boost services consumption to support the economy amid rising trade tensions with the United States.

The plan expands the list of cities included in a pilot programme to open up the services sector and lays out tasks including promoting faster industrial application of artificial intelligence technology, according to the document released by the commerce ministry.

China will further open its value-added telecommunications services and related digital services to foreign investors, and make efforts to open up the medical and health care sectors, the document added.

The country will also allow financial institutions to expand the scope of their business, supporting multinational companies that invest or register locally to conduct cross-border centralised fund operations in yuan and stepping up the pilot scheme for the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) programme, it said. The QFLP was launched in 2010 and allows foreign investors to invest in the country’s private equity market through a limited partnership structure.

China will also promote participation of Chinese and foreign commercial banks and insurers in the trading of yuan treasury bond futures for risk management purposes.

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