China
2025 China Market Access Negative List: Expanded Opportunities in Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Entertainment
China’s 2025 Negative List for Market Access reduces restricted industries to 106, easing investment in sectors like manufacturing and healthcare. However, new restrictions on e-cigarettes, drones, and online pharmacy sales signal tighter oversight in sensitive fields while promoting overall market liberalization.
China’s 2025 Negative List for Market Access marks a further step toward liberalization, cutting down the number of restricted industries and easing private investment restrictions in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, entertainment, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, retail, and IT. However, it also introduces new restrictions on industries like e-cigarette production, drone manufacturing, online pharmaceutical sales, and non-commercial internet information services. As a key regulatory tool, investors should pay close arrention to the changes in the new Negative List to better navigate China’s shifting market landscape.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), along with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), has released the 2025 edition of the Market Access Negative List (hereinafter, the 2025 Negative List).
China’s market access negative lists define the industries, sectors, and activities that are either prohibited or subject to government approval for investment by both domestic and foreign entities. This list is distinct from the Negative List for Foreign Investment Access, which outlines prohibitions and restrictions for foreign investors.
The market access negative list is one of China’s primary policy instruments for liberalizing market entry and improving the business environment. The shortening of the 2025 list reflects a continued effort by Chinese regulators to ease entry barriers and encourage investment in a broader range of industries.
However, despite the overall reduction in the number of restricted areas, some new restrictions have been introduced, tightening regulation in certain fields such as unmanned aerial vehicles, e-cigarette production, online sales of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and non-commercial internet information services. These additions signal the government’s intent to exercise greater oversight over emerging and sensitive industries, even as it opens others.
The 2025 edition of the Market Access Negative List has been further streamlined, reducing the number of restricted fields to 106 across 21 industries, down from 117 in the 2022 edition. Of these, six fields remain entirely prohibited to private investment, while the rest require government approval for market entry.
The list also includes local-level restrictions, which have been trimmed from 36 items to 20, indicating efforts to standardize and reduce regional regulatory barriers.
| This article was first published by China Briefing , which is produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm assists foreign investors throughout Asia from offices across the world, including in in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and India . Readers may write to info@dezshira.com for more support. |
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