China to remove limits on foreign investment in passenger car manufacturing

BEIJING — Chinese authorities will allow full foreign ownership of passenger car manufacturing in the country beginning Jan. 1, 2022.

That’s according to a release Monday from the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning agency. The document was one of the government’s regular releases on industries barred from foreign investment.

The 2021 version published Monday did not include passenger car manufacturing. The 2020 edition of the list had promised the change would come in 2022.

China has gradually peeled back limits on foreign ownership in the domestic auto industry.

However, Monday’s release still included 31 areas in which foreign investment is banned or restricted, including rare earths, film production and distribution, and tobacco products. In industries such as medical institutions, foreign entities must form joint ventures with local partners, which typically have the majority stake.