Shortened negative lists

CHINA yesterday unveiled two shortened negative lists for foreign investment, as part of efforts to further open up the economy and promote high-quality economic development.

The number of items that are off-limits for foreign investors will be cut to 31 in the 2021 version of the negative list from 33 in the 2020 version, according to a statement jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce. China also unveiled its 2021 negative list for foreign investment in pilot free trade zones, cutting the number of items to 27 from 30. The two new negative lists will take effect Jan. 1, 2022.

New railway line

A NEW high-speed railway section went operational Sunday in East China’s Shandong Province, bringing the city of Heze into the country’s high-speed rail network.

The 199-km new rail section connects the city of Qufu and Zhuangzhai Township, Heze’s Caoxian County, said the China Railway Jinan Group Co. The fastest train takes passengers only one hour and 23 minutes from Heze to the provincial capital Jinan and less than three hours to Beijing. The new line will enhance the transport interconnectivity between the southern part of Shandong and the plain area in Central China and greatly facilitate the travel of people along the route.

Telecom sector

THE telecommunications industry registered robust growth in revenue in the first 11 months of this year, official data shows.

The combined industrial revenue rose 8.1 percent year on year to over 1.35 trillion yuan (US$212 billion) in the January-November period, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.