The Negative List Approach in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (SHPFTZ) is an incremental step towards equal treatment for foreign-invested enterprises in China. Nonetheless, the Chinese government’s reluctance and prudence in further opening-up, especially in domestic liberalization, is an encumbrance to the advancement of its large economy. The Negative List Approach in the SHPFTZ has many fundamental flaws, including low-level authority, uncertainty, limited effects, and incomplete reform. However, the Negative List Approach in the SHPFTZ is at least a model for other new FTZs in China and a reference for China’s future new FDI regulatory framework.
Journal of World Trade