The Negative List for Market Access specifies industries, sectors, and business activities that are either prohibited or permitted only with government approval for investment and operation within China. This list serves as a universal management measure applicable to all investors, both domestic and foreign. It should be noted that for foreign investors, in addition to the Negative List for Market Access, the relevant provisions of the Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) must also be applied.

Compared with the 2022 version, the new version of the Negative List has reduced the number of the restricted items from 117 to 106, with 17 fewer nationwide specific management measures and 16 fewer local management measures under these items. The main modifications are as follows:

• Several national measures have been directly removed. For example, the seal engraving industry has been changed from a licensing system to a record-filing system, and the sale of specialized cybersecurity products for computer information systems has been shifted to a testing and certification regime based on mandatory national standards.
• A number of local measures have been eliminated. For example, local management measures for ship design/repair, alcohol production and operation, and bulk commodity trading of equity-like products have been abolished. Instead, a nation-wide unified access framework will apply.
• Standardized market access for emerging sectors and business models. For example, incorporating e-cigarette production, wholesale, and retail licensing into the Negative List, and clarifying online sales eligibility criteria for pharmaceutical e-commerce.
• Enhanced risk control in key sectors. For example, explicitly prohibiting non-financial institutions from illegally using the designation "futures company", and expanding the industrial product licensing system from 10 categories to 14 categories covering 27 product types, strengthening production safety oversight.