Nansha announces country's first "professional service list"

The Investment and Trade Promotion Bureau,the Finance Bureau, the Construction and Transportation Bureau, and the Judicial Bureau of Guangzhou Nansha Development Zone, recently formulated Guidelines on the Opening of the Professional Service Industry in the Nansha Area of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (2019 Edition).

The document is available on the official website of the Nansha District Government.The Guidelines involve all the policies in the fields of legal norms, accounting, taxation, and construction engineering as well as consulting, investigation and design services.

With consideration of the restrictive measures in the service sector, a number of legal provisions, and the different release time, the Guidelines sort out the professional service industry policies pertaining to different time periods by industry and type.

They further improve the transparency of opening up to foreign investment and provide references for foreign and Hong Kong and Macao investors entering China.

With attention to the Negative List of Free Trade Zones and CEPA，the Guidelines further summarize the areas of law, accounting, taxation, consulting, investigation and construction engineering and design services, which enhances their transparency and operability. They also facilitate the entry of foreign capital into the Chinese market.

At the same time, the Guidelines highlight the important role of the Nansha Free Trade Zone in leading reform and opening up and innovation, and make a positive and beneficial exploration of the further expansion of China's service industry.

This is the first negative list open to the outside world for professional services in the country. In the future, Nansha district will introduce more open-door listing guidelines in the shipping industry and medical education, and further expand the degree of opening up.