新华社北京12月31日电 国务院总理李克强日前签署国务院令，公布《中华人民共和国外商投资法实施条例》（以下简称《实施条例》），自2020年1月1日起施行。

党中央、国务院高度重视《中华人民共和国外商投资法》（以下简称外商投资法）实施，明确要求制定配套法规，细化法律确定的主要制度，形成可操作的具体规则，持续优化外商投资环境。作为外商投资法的配套法规，《实施条例》严格贯彻外商投资法的立法原则和宗旨，更加突出促进和保护外商投资的主基调，增强制度的可操作性，保障法律有效实施。

一是鼓励和促进外商投资。《实施条例》提出要保护外商投资合法权益，规范外商投资管理，持续优化外商投资环境，推进更高水平对外开放。同时，对中国自然人与外国投资者共同投资、外商投资准入负面清单的制定和调整程序、外商投资企业在中国境内投资的法律适用等问题作了明确规定。

二是细化外商投资促进具体措施。《实施条例》规定外商投资企业平等适用国家支持企业发展的有关政策，依法平等参与标准制定、政府采购活动；建立健全外商投资服务体系。

三是加强外商投资保护力度。《实施条例》对外国投资者投资的征收补偿、禁止利用行政手段强制外国投资者和外商投资企业转让技术、保护商业秘密、外商投资企业投诉工作机制等作了细化，明确外商投资法第二十五条所称政策承诺的具体内涵和要求。

四是规范外商投资管理。《实施条例》明确外商投资准入负面清单的落实机制，细化外商投资企业登记注册、外商投资信息报告制度。

此外，《实施条例》细化了现有外商投资企业组织形式等有关的过渡期安排，保持当事人权利义务的稳定。明确了港澳台投资的法律适用，保持港澳台投资政策的连续性稳定性。并对政府和有关部门及其工作人员违反本条例的行为规定了相应的法律责任。

《实施条例》施行后，《中华人民共和国中外合资经营企业法实施条例》、《中外合资经营企业合营期限暂行规定》、《中华人民共和国外资企业法实施细则》、《中华人民共和国中外合作经营企业法实施细则》同时废止。

The State Council issued the Regulation on Implementing the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China on Dec 31, in an effort to further improve business environment and promote higher level opening-up.

Premier Li Keqiang signed a State Council decree to release the regulation. As a matching regulation, it will be implemented along with the Foreign Investment Law starting Jan 1, 2020. It specifies measures to promote foreign investment, protect the legitimate rights of foreign investors and regulate foreign investment management.

The government should treat domestic and foreign-invested enterprises lawfully and equally in government funding, land supply, tax and fee cuts, license awarding, standard setting, project application, and human resources policies, among others, according to the document.

Equality is also reflected in the requirement that the government should not stop foreign companies from entering the local government procurement market.

Foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises will enjoy preferential treatment in government funding, tax, finance, land use, etc., in accordance with China’s laws and administrative regulations or rules of the State Council.

In formulating administrative regulations, rules and normative documents as well as local laws and regulations governing foreign investment, opinions should be solicited from foreign-invested enterprises and associated chambers of commerce and associations, according to the document.

Foreign companies are entitled to equal and lawful participation in the formulation and revision of national, industrial and local standards. They can make standards-related recommendations and undertake such work as drafting standards.

The regulation allows foreign-invested enterprises to obtain financing within or outside China, among other means, by publicly issuing securities such as stocks and corporate bonds, and publicly or non-publicly issuing other financing instruments and obtaining external loans.

It also pledges strengthened protection of foreign investment, ranging from remittance to complaint handling.

Foreign investment will not be expropriated by the State. In special cases where expropriation is necessary for public interest, legal procedures should be followed in a nondiscriminatory manner, and timely compensation should be made based on market value.

Foreign investors’ capital contributions, profits, capital gains, assets disposal earnings, royalties on intellectual property rights, legitimate compensation or damages, and liquidation proceeds, etc., may be freely remitted to and from China in the form of renminbi or foreign currency. No organization or individual should impose limitations on the type and amount of currency or frequency of remittance.

The government will mete out more severe punishments for IPR infringements, and administrative organs and their staff members should not require forced technology transfer.

Governments above county level should create and improve the mechanism for foreign investors to voice their complaints in a transparent, efficient and convenient manner.

For foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises, they may apply for an administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit against an administrative behavior, and can request a review of the normative document on which the behavior is based.

The government will set up a foreign investment security review system aimed at foreign investment that affects or may affect national security.

Foreign investors will be denied access to fields in which their investment is prohibited by the negative list for foreign investment, and should follow special restrictive management measures in fields subject to limited investment.

Meanwhile, the regulation defines legal responsibilities of governments and their staff members if they fail to treat domestic and foreign-invested enterprises equally, restrict foreign enterprises’ equal participation in setting and revising standards, adopt stringent technical requirements exclusively for foreign-invested enterprises, unlawfully restrict remittance by foreign investors, or fail to fulfill their policy commitments or agreed contracts.

Investors from Hong Kong and Macao should refer to the Foreign Investment Law and the implementing regulation when investing in the Chinese mainland. Investment by Chinese nationals settled in foreign countries should be governed by the same.

For investments from Taiwan, the Law on the Protection of Investment by Taiwan Compatriots and its implementing regulation will apply, and matters not covered should be addressed by referring to the Foreign Investment Law and the regulation.