04 Chapter IV  Investment Protection

Article 26 The municipal and district people's governments and relevant departments, when implementing policies and measures for the purpose of supporting enterprise development and with respect to government fund arrangement, land supply, tax reduction and exemption, qualification licensing, standard formulation, project application, professional title assessment and human resources, shall treat foreign-invested enterprises equally according to law.

Foreign-invested enterprises have the equal rights in accordance with the law to participate in the government procurement, bidding and tender, land transfer and equity exchange through the municipal public resources trading platform.

Article 27 This Municipality shall not expropriate investment from foreign investors according to law.Under special circumstances, where the investment of foreign investors is expropriated in the interest of the public and in accordance with the law, the executors shall strictly abide by legal procedures, conduct the expropriation in a non-discriminatory manner and promptly make compensation according to the market value of the expropriated investment.

In response to natural disasters, public health incidents and other emergencies, the municipal and district people's governments and their relevant departments may, according to law, make requisition of the property of foreign-invested enterprises, or request foreign-invested enterprises that produce and supply daily necessities and emergency relief materials to organize production and ensure supply. The requisitioned property shall be returned in a timely manner upon the property utilization or completion of the emergency response.

If the property of a foreign-invested enterprise is requisitioned, or such property is damaged or lost after requisition, compensation shall be made according to law.

Article 28 In accordance with the law, foreign investors may be at liberty to remit, in RMB or foreign currency, their investment, profits, capital gains, income from disposal of assets, licensing fees for intellectual property rights, reimbursement, compensation or liquidation income lawfully acquired within Chinese territory, into and out of China. The wages and other lawful incomes of the foreign employee and staff members of foreign-invested enterprises and the employees of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan may be remitted freely according to law.

No unit or individual may, in violation of the law, restrict the currencies, amounts or the frequency of inward and outward remittances.

Municipal banking financial institutions are encouraged to increase the application of Fin-tech, provide foreign-invested enterprises with convenience in foreign-related receipts and expenditures and electronic settlement services, and explore the implementation of facilitation measures on foreign exchange purchasing by using the local salaries of foreign employees and the employees of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Article 29 This Municipality shall, in accordance with the law, vigorously protect intellectual property rights of foreign investors, foreign-invested enterprises, promote the establishment of rapid coordination mechanism for cross-regional and cross-sectoral protection of intellectual property, continuously improve the judicial and administrative law enforcement of intellectual property protection system, punish the acts infringing the intellectual property rights owned by foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises according to law.

The people's courts at all levels in this Municipality shall promptly accept and examine the application for evidence perpetuation and act perpetuation involving intellectual property rights of foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises, and render a ruling according to law and execute it immediately.

For repeated infringement, malicious infringement and other infringement with serious circumstances, the punitive compensation and other punitive measures shall be applicable in accordance with law.

Guidelines on the application of relevant laws shall be issued in due course, and typical cases of judicial protection of intellectual property rights in both Chinese and English shall be published.

Article 30 Relevant departments of this Municipality shall establish and improve the internal management system and take effective measures to protect business secrets of foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises known by executors in the course of performing their functions and duties.

Where it is necessary to share information with other departments according to law, the business secrets contained in the information shall be kept confidential to prevent their disclosure.

The people's courts at all levels of this Municipality shall strengthen the judicial protection of business secrets, apply the rules of evidence according to law, and ease the obligee's burden of safeguarding his rights.

Article 31 This Municipality encourages and protects foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises in accordance with law to develop technical cooperation with various municipal market entities and scientific research entities on the basis of the principle of voluntariness and commercial rules.

Article 32 This Municipality ensures fair participation of foreign-invested enterprises in government procurement according to law.

This Municipality may not apply differentiation or discrimination treatment to foreign-invested enterprises in respect of government procurement information release, establishing the requirements for suppliers and the evaluation criteria, may not restrict the supplier's form of ownership, type of organization and equity structure or investor's nationality, as well as product or service brand, etc., may not make a distinction between products manufactured and services provided within the territory of China by foreign invested enterprises and those by domestic-funded enterprises.

Article 33 When formulating local rules, regulations and normative documents by this Municipality related to foreign investment, the drafting department shall fully hear the opinions and suggestions of foreign-invested enterprises, relevant chambers of commerce and associations, etc.

When formulating normative documents related to foreign investment, an examination for legitimacy shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions. Where there is no basis of laws and administrative rules, the lawful rights and interests of foreign-invested enterprises shall not be derogated and their obligations shall not be increased.

When formulating normative documents, policies and measures by this Municipality closely related to the manufacturing and operation activities of foreign-invested enterprises in this Municipality, a necessary adaptation and adjustment period shall be set apart before the implementation, except for those otherwise prescribed by the State and those without immediate enforcement may hinder its later enforcement.

When making public the local rules, regulations and normative documents closely related to foreign investment, the enacting authority shall make interpretations in a way that is easy to read and understand, and provide the corresponding English translation or abstract, and shall, according to the actual situation, provide multilingual translation or abstract.

Article 34 The written policy commitment made by the municipal, district people's government and its relevant departments within the statutory limits to foreign investors and foreign-funded enterprises in accordance with the law as well as all kinds of contracts concluded according to law shall be strictly fulfilled and shall not be defaulted or broken due to administrative division adjustment, government transition, adjustment of institutions or functions and replacement of the relevant person in charge, etc.

Where municipal or district people's governments and their relevant departments go beyond their statutory authority and result in invalidity or unenforceability of their commitments or contracts, they shall bear legal responsibility in accordance with law.

Article 35 This Municipality ensures the equal participation of foreign-invested enterprises in the formulation and revision of local standards according to law. With regard to the local standards closely related to the manufacturing and operation of foreign-invested enterprises, this Municipality shall fully listen to the opinions of foreign-invested enterprises, and explore to provide an English translation or abstract of the draft that solicit opinions on standards. Foreign-invested enterprises may recommend representatives to join the relevant municipal technical committee of standardization. Representatives of foreign-invested enterprises are encouraged to participate in the National Technical Committee of Standardization.

The market supervision department and relevant departments shall, in accordance with the law, make public the whole-process information on the formulation and revision of local standards, and provide convenience and guidance for foreign-invested enterprises to participate in the work related to the local standards drafting, translation and international cooperation, etc.

No standards or guiding technical documents on local standards shall be used to carry out acts that hinder the participation of foreign-invested enterprises in fair competition.

Article 36 Foreign-invested enterprises may, according to law, engage in the water supply, gas supply, sewage treatment, garbage disposal in this Municipality, as well as in franchised business activities of construction and operational project of urban roads, highways, urban rail transit and other public transportation.

The franchising policy of this Municipality in the field of urban infrastructure shall be equally applicable to foreign-invested enterprises in accordance with the law.

Article 37 Where a foreign-invested enterprise or its investor considers that the administrative act of an administrative agency or by its staff members infringes upon its legitimate rights and interests, it may lodge a complaint with the foreign investment department or institution designated by the municipal department of commerce and the district people's government (hereinafter referred to as the complaint handling institution).The complaint handling institution shall, based on the principle of graded responsibility, in conjunction with relevant departments, deal with the problems reflected by the complainant.

The municipal department of commerce shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments, establish a joint meeting system for work on complaints of foreign-invested enterprises, coordinate and facilitate the work on complaints of foreign-invested enterprises at the municipal level, and guide and supervise the work on complaints of foreign-invested enterprises in all districts. The municipal department of commerce shall improve the work rules for complaints, perfect the methods of filing complaints, clarify the time limit of complaint handling, and release them to the public.

Article 38 Relying on diversified dispute resolution platforms, this Municipality shall establish and improve diversified dispute resolution mechanisms of mediation, commercial arbitration, administrative adjudication, administrative reconsideration and litigation that are organically connected and mutually coordinated and provide efficient and convenient dispute resolution channels for foreign-invested enterprises.

This Municipality shall encourage and support the arbitration institution established according to law to explore the innovative system and mechanism, shall, in accordance with laws and rules and with reference to international commercial arbitration practice, perfect the rules of arbitration appropriate to foreign investment, uplift the degree of internationalization of commercial disputes arbitration, respect the autonomy of will of the parties, allow the parties to choose arbitration procedures and legal rules in accordance with the law, and provide independent, fair, professional and efficient arbitration service.

Significant, complicated and difficult administrative review cases involving foreign investment shall be deliberated by the administrative review committee, and non-permanent members or experts familiar with international economic and trade investment rules shall be arranged to participate.

We shall, in accordance with the unified arrangements of the State, actively promote the construction of international commercial judicial organizations, innovate the operating mechanism of international commercial adjudication, and speed up the formation of an adjudication system and mechanism that is compatible with the needs of Shanghai International commercial dispute resolution.

Article 39 Foreign-invested enterprises may establish chambers of commerce and associations according to law, and have the right to decide on their own to join or withdraw from chambers of commerce and associations, except as otherwise provided for by laws and rules.

This Municipality supports chambers of commerce and associations, in accordance with the provisions of laws, rules, regulations and charters, to timely reflect the concerns and demands of members and provide them with services in information consultation, publicity and training, market development, economic and trade exchanges, rights and interests protection, dispute resolution, etc.

05 Chapter V  Investment Management and Service

Article 40 Foreign investors who invest in the fields restricted by the provisions of the special administrative measures for foreign investment access (negative list) shall meet the requirements of such special administrative measures as shareholding ratios and senior executives, and may not invest in the fields prohibited from investment.

Areas other than the negative list for foreign investment access shall be managed in accordance with the principle of consistency between domestic and foreign investment.

When handling such matters as enterprise registration, project approval or filing, industry licensing, etc., the municipal departments of market supervision, development and reform and the competent departments of other industries shall perform the duty of reviewing negative list, provide the foreign investors, foreign-invested enterprises with relevant consulting services, and strengthen inter-departmental information sharing. Relevant departments shall simplify the negative list review process once the approval from other review departments has been obtained after review.

Article 41 When applying for registration of establishment and alteration for foreign-invested enterprises, if the applicant pledges to have conformed to the requirements of the negative list and makes commitment that the submitted materials such as the charter, agreement, resolution and certificate of competence of the post are true, lawful and valid. Market regulative departments thereby may conduct formal examination; where a decision can be made on the spot once the materials are complete and in conformity with legal form, a written decision shall be made on the spot, except as otherwise provided for by laws and rules.

Article 42 Where a foreign investor or a foreign-invested enterprise participates in a new construction project or makes a merger and acquisition involving fixed asset investment in this Municipality, shall, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State and this Municipality, apply to the department of development and reform, etc. for verification and approval or filing as foreign-invested project, through the online investment project examination and approval platform before the project is implemented.

Except for the non-prohibited investment projects on the negative list and the projects requiring verification and approval for both domestic and foreign investment in accordance with the regulations of the State and this Municipality that need to be verified and approved, the department of development and reform, etc. shall, in accordance with the principle of consistency between foreign and domestic capital, conduct filing administration. The projects are considered duly registered once all the project information submitted by foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises is received online.

The administrative measures on the verification and approval of and filing for foreign investment projects shall be formulated and promulgated by the Municipal People's Government.

Article 43 Foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises shall submit their investment information to the department of commerce through the enterprise registration system and the enterprise credit information publicity system. The municipal department of commerce shall provide guidance for foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises in submitting investment information.

The content and scope of the foreign investment information shall be determined in accordance with the principle of necessity. The information that can be obtained by interdepartmental information sharing shall not be required to be submitted again. The municipal departments of commerce and market supervision shall fulfil good docking and work linkage for relevant business systems.

Article 44 Relevant departments of this Municipality shall, in accordance with the security review system for foreign investment and work requirements of the State, cooperate with the State in carrying out relevant work.

Article 45 The municipal departments of development and reform, commerce and economic informatization shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments and the people's governments of the relevant districts, establish and improve the service system for major foreign investment projects.

For those included in the catalogue of major foreign investment projects, we shall, through the establishment of green channels and by provision of "one-stop" services, make overall plans to promote matters such as access, planning, land use, environmental protection, energy utilization, construction, foreign currency, and support the implementation of projects. Among such projects, those applicable to this Municipality's provisions on major engineering projects shall be brought into the major engineering construction coordination mechanism at the municipal level for further promotion.

Article 46 This Municipality shall establish and improve the communication mechanism between government and foreign-invested enterprises.

The municipal and district people's governments and relevant departments shall solicit opinions and suggestions from foreign-invested enterprises through regular round table meetings, field visits, questionnaire surveys and online opinion solicits, keep abreast of and help enterprises to solve problems encountered in production and operation in a timely manner, and study and improve relevant policies and measures.

Foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises may reflect relevant appeals, comments and suggestions through such channels as "12345" hotline, enterprise service cloud, foreign investment promotion service platform, chamber of commerce and association, etc. Relevant departments shall study and deal with them in a timely manner.

Article 47 The municipal departments of science and technology, entry and exit shall provide foreign employees and staff of foreign-invested enterprises with work permits and the convenience in entry and exit, stopover, dwell and residence, etc. The application for work and residence permits through the "single window for work and residence of foreigners" shall be completed within seven working days at one time.

For foreign high-tech talents, skilled talents and other talents introduced by foreign-invested enterprises and accredited as talents in urgent need and in short supply, the municipal department of science and technology may appropriately relax restrictions on age, educational background and working experience.

The exit and entry administration and border inspection authorities shall, in accordance with relevant regulations, provide convenience in port visa and transit visa exemption for foreign nationals who carry out business and trade at the invitation of foreign-invested enterprises.

Article 48 The municipal department of commerce, in conjunction with other relevant departments, shall, relying on the "Integrated Online Platform", open special windows on foreign services and provide English guidance services such as service items list and service directory to foreign nationals and foreign-invested enterprises.

Article 49 The standing committees of the municipal and district people's congresses shall strengthen the supervision over the work of foreign investment in their respective administrative areas by listening to the special work report, carrying out law enforcement inspection and other methods.

The standing committees of the municipal and district people's congresses shall give full play to the role of deputies, organize them to carry out special investigations and inspections with focus on foreign investment, collect and reflect the opinions and suggestions of foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises, supervise and urge the relevant parties to implement all the work in regard to foreign investment.

06 Chapter VI  Supplementary

Article 50 Investment in this Municipality by investors from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Taiwan Region, as well as by Chinese citizens residing abroad, shall be governed with reference to these Regulations; where laws, administrative rules or other provisions of the State Council provide otherwise, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 51 These Regulations shall be effective as of November 1, 2020.

The article is originated from the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, updated on October 29, 2020.