Meeting with Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on Newly Drafted Shanghai Municipal Regulation on Foreign Investment

2020-08-20 | Shanghai

Meeting with Shanghai Municipal People's Congress on Newly Drafted Shanghai Municipal Regulation on Foreign Investment

On 20th August, Shanghai Municipal People's Congress (SMPC) invited representatives of local foreign chambers of commerce to share their opinions on the newly drafted Shanghai Municipal Regulation on Foreign Investment (Draft for Comments). The draft Regulation is the local implementation rule of the Foreign Investment Law that came into effect on 1st January 2020. It is expected to be finalized and passed by end of this year, according to Mr. Lu Xiaodong, Director General of the SMPC's Legal Affairs Committee.

 

Ms. Helei Fu, Government Affairs Director of the European Chamber, presented the Chamber's preliminary analysis of the latest draft. The draft Regulation has included several comments that the Chamber submitted during the previous public consultations such as providing English translation of foreign investment related laws and regulations, allowing foreign-invested enterprises to participate in the local standardisation and technical committees, as well as simplifying entry procedures for foreign talents. The Chamber expects these recommendations to be adopted in the final version of the document.

 

Ms. Fu also highlighted the areas that need improvement in the current draft such as lack of operational details, as well as clear definition of important terms such as 'public interest'. A common concern among the meeting participants was that the draft Regulation does not have an accountability mechanism for government officials who may seriously violate laws, especially for cases related to trade secrets and forced technology transfer.