Translated by Claude, edited by Sinocism.com

Ministry of Justice, NDRC, and MOFCOM Officials Answer Reporters' Questions on the State Council Regulations on Outbound Investment

司法部、国家发展改革委、商务部负责人就《国务院关于对外投资的规定》答记者问

Source: Xinhua

Xinhua, Beijing, June 1 — Officials of the Ministry of Justice, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Commerce answer reporters' questions on the State Council Regulations on Outbound Investment

新华社北京6月1日电 题：司法部、国家发展改革委、商务部负责人就《国务院关于对外投资的规定》答记者问

By Xinhua reporters

新华社记者

On May 5, 2026, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang signed State Council Order No. 837 promulgating the State Council Regulations on Outbound Investment (hereinafter "the Regulations"), which take effect on July 1, 2026. Recently, officials of the Ministry of Justice, the NDRC, and MOFCOM answered reporters' questions on the Regulations.

2026年5月5日，国务院总理李强签署第837号国务院令，公布《国务院关于对外投资的规定》（以下简称《规定》），自2026年7月1日起施行。日前，司法部、国家发展改革委、商务部负责人就《规定》的有关问题回答了记者提问。

Question: Please briefly introduce the background to the formulation of the Regulations.

问：请简要介绍一下《规定》的制定背景。

Answer: Outbound investment is an important aspect of opening up. Since the 18th Party Congress, the Party Central Committee and the State Council have made a series of decisions and arrangements to deepen reforms in the area of outbound investment and to improve the overseas investment legal system. China's outbound investment volume has firmly remained among the world's top, and our participation in the international industrial division of labor and cooperation has continued to deepen. As the once-in-a-century changes accelerate, geopolitical risks rise, and international competition becomes ever more intense, the long-standing model of conducting outbound investment management and services principally on the basis of departmental rules and normative documents no longer meets current needs. There is an urgent need for high-level specialized legislation to elevate long-standing effective measures into legal institutions, to better align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and to clarify the institutional measures for outbound investment services, management, and protection — in order to effectively protect the lawful rights and interests of investors and their outbound investments, safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and advance high-quality outbound investment development on the track of the rule of law.

答：对外投资是对外开放的重要方面。党的十八大以来，党中央、国务院就深化对外投资领域改革，健全境外投资法律体系等作出一系列决策部署，我国对外投资规模稳居世界前列，参与国际产业分工合作不断深化。随着百年变局加速演进，地缘政治风险上升，国际竞争日益激烈，长期以来主要依据部门规章、规范性文件等实施对外投资管理服务的模式已不符合现实需求，迫切需要高位阶专门立法将长期施行的有效措施上升为法律制度，更好对接国际高标准经济贸易规则，明确对外投资服务、管理、保护等方面的制度措施，以有效保护投资者及其对外投资合法权益，维护国家主权、安全和发展利益，在法治轨道上推进对外投资高质量发展。

The formulation of the Regulations is an important measure for implementing the decisions and arrangements of the Third and Fourth Plenums of the 20th Party Congress on improving the system for managing and servicing outbound investment and effectively implementing outbound investment management. It is an urgent requirement for coordinating development and security and advancing high-quality outbound investment development, and a major rule-of-law practice in China's unswerving expansion of opening up and in advancing economic globalization toward greater openness, inclusiveness, broad benefit, balance, and mutual benefit. It is of milestone significance in the history of China's outbound investment development.

制定《规定》是贯彻落实党的二十届三中、四中全会关于健全对外投资管理服务体系、有效实施对外投资管理决策部署的重要举措，是统筹发展和安全、推进对外投资高质量发展的迫切需要，是我国坚定不移扩大开放，推进经济全球化朝着更加开放、包容、普惠、平衡、共赢的方向发展的重大法治实践，在我国对外投资发展历程上具有里程碑意义。

Question: What was the consultation process during the drafting of the Regulations?

问：《规定》制定中征求意见的情况如何？

Answer: In the drafting of the Regulations, the drafting departments strictly followed the requirements of scientific, democratic, and law-based legislation, and in accordance with proper procedures, extensively solicited views from all sides. The State Council's 2025 Annual Legislative Work Plan proposed advancing outbound investment legislation. The formulation of the State Council Regulations on Outbound Investment was included in the State Council's 2026 Annual Legislative Work Plan. The Ministry of Justice, the NDRC, and MOFCOM carefully reviewed the achievements and problems in outbound investment practice; through written consultations, local research trips, visits to enterprises, and expert symposia, they gained a thorough understanding of the views of relevant departments, enterprises, industry associations and chambers of commerce, experts, scholars, and lawyers, and fully studied and adopted those views. After producing a working draft, the Ministry of Justice solicited opinions in three rounds from over 100 organizations, including relevant central units, local people's governments, and relevant people's organizations; organized expert deliberations on multiple occasions; heard views from relevant enterprises, industry associations and chambers of commerce, experts, scholars, deputies to the National People's Congress, and members of the CPPCC; and conducted field research locally. On this basis, the views and suggestions raised by all parties were carefully studied one by one, fully absorbed and adopted, and through repeated revision and refinement a draft was formed, which after deliberation by an executive meeting of the State Council in accordance with legislative procedures was promulgated and put into effect. It can be said that the Regulations have extensively solicited and fully absorbed all manner of views and suggestions and are a crystallization of the wisdom of all sides.