Guangzhou: Further relax foreign investment access conditions in service sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, and education

The General Office of the People's Government of Guangzhou issued a notice on several measures to promote the high-quality development of service trade and digital trade through high-level opening-up. It proposed to deepen the opening-up of the service industry. The aim is to strive to create a national demonstration zone for innovative development of service trade, serving as a model in areas such as institutional innovation and opening-up, business model innovation and enhancement, and regional coordinated development. It will implement the national version and the free trade zone version of the negative list for cross-border service trade, strengthen the connection between the opening-up measures of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the negative list for cross-border service trade, and further relax the foreign investment access conditions in service sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare, and education. In terms of professional qualifications in the service industry, service standards, certification and accreditation, and industry management, it will strengthen alignment with international trade rules such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA)