China vows to end forced tech transfers in manufacturing sector
Li Keqiang also pledges to open up some service sectors, remove equity caps on foreign firms in some areas and ease restrictions on foreign investment
Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday vowed there would be no mandatory technology transfers in China’s manufacturing sector, in the latest bid to reassure the country’s frustrated trading partners.
Foreign companies have complained for years about forced technology transfers in exchange for market access in China, including having to reveal their most sophisticated or key technology to Chinese partners in joint ventures.
They say forced technology transfers are rife in the car, semiconductor and new energy battery industries, but Beijing has not officially acknowledged that such practices exist.
“We will fully open up the manufacturing sector, with no mandatory technology transfers allowed, and we will protect intellectual property,” Li told a press conference wrapping up the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
Li also said the government would open up sectors such as aged care, education and financial services, remove equity caps on foreign firms in some areas, and gradually cut market access restrictions on foreign investment. But he did not give any further details or say when these changes would happen.
