China: Ministry of Commerce released 2025 Work Plan for expanding pilot on service sector opening-up including 9 additional cities

On 11 April 2025, the Ministry of Commerce issued the Notice on Issuing the Work Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Pilot Programme for Expanding the Opening-up of the Service Industry (Shangzihan [2025] No. 84). The work plan expands the pilot programme for the service industry. Building on the existing 11 pilot areas - Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, Shanghai Municipality, Hainan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Shenyang City, Nanjing City, Hangzhou City, Wuhan City, Guangzhou City and Chengdu City - the scope will be extended to 9 more cities: Dalian City, Ningbo City, Xiamen City, Qingdao City, Shenzhen City, Hefei City, Fuzhou City, Xi'an City and Suzhou City. The measures outlined include the removal of foreign ownership restrictions in certain telecommunications and digital service sectors, such as allowing up to 50% foreign ownership in virtual private network (VPN) services, and lifting caps on the operation of app stores and internet access services. The plan also provides for the application of artificial intelligence technologies, cross-regional data processing and sharing, and the regulatory treatment of related activities. Other provisions cover cross-border access to services in the healthcare, finance and tourism sectors, coordination between the transport and manufacturing sectors, and streamlining trade procedures. It also includes regulatory measures related to data security and compliance, with references to pilot provisions in line with the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) framework.