2020年新年伊始，武汉爆发新型冠状病毒感染肺炎，随后疫情蔓延全国。值此危难之际，全国人民众志成城，守望相助，共克时艰。为管控疫情，国家采取了延长春节假期、推迟复工时间、对重点疫情城市和人员进行管制等紧急措施。这些严格的疫情管制措施在保护民众生命安全的同时，也不可置否地对全国的经济活动和企业的经营造成诸多不便和困难，给在华外资企业带来人力成本、租金、采购受限、生产延误、销售下降等多重压力，一些地方的招商引资活动也受到影响。

在此特殊困难时期，外资企业如何应对和处理因疫情带来的经营问题和困难，如何解决潜在投资项目等，无疑成为外资企业和潜在外国投资者当下最关心的问题。为此，我们特撰写此文总结近期国家和地方出台的外资领域相关的扶助政策和措施。

外商投资一直是推动中国经济发展不可或缺的重要力量，为鼓励和保护外商投资优化投资环境，今年1月1日我国正式实施了新《外商投资法》和《外商投资法实施条例》及其他配套规定。此次疫情爆发后，世界卫生组织将其定性为"国际关注的突发公共卫生事件"，为最大程度降低疫情给我国外资企业和外商投资活动带来的冲击和负面影响，近日来国家和地方层面纷纷出台特殊时期的扶助政策和措施。

2020年2月12日，在中央召开的分析新冠肺炎疫情形势研究加强防控工作会议上，习近平主席特别指出，"要推动外资大项目落地，实施好外商投资法及配套法规，优化外商投资环境，保护外资合法权益"。

此前，为稳定外商投资，国家商务部于2月10日发布《关于积极应对新冠肺炎疫情加强外资企业服务和招商引资工作的通知》（以下简称"《商务部通知》"），围绕"稳外资"目标，推出五大举措，指导各地加强对外资企业的服务和保障，帮助外资企业有序复工复产，同时优化创新招商引资工作，推动外商投资项目落地，对受疫情影响严重的企业进行一对一帮扶，继续优化营商环境等。

《商务部通知》的主要内容归纳如下：

根据该通知，各地商务主管部门应积极帮助外资企业有序恢复正常生产经营。在做好防控工作的前提下，按照当地政府统一安排，协助做好复工前各项准备工作，大力支持外资企业有序复工复产。各地商务主管部门应与各地市场监管部门加强沟通协调，落实好外商投资信息报告制度，确保信息报告及时、真实、准确、完整。聚焦疫情对各类外资企业的不同影响，分类施策，一企一策，会同相关部门采取精准帮扶措施，帮助企业渡过难关。

针对当前人员流动受阻等难题，发挥互联网平台优势，整合各类招商资源，积极通过网上洽谈、视频会议、在线签约等方式推进网上招商，持续不断推进投资促进和招商工作。各地商务主管部门应密切跟踪在谈外资大项目进展，及时了解外商决策进展，加大沟通力度，积极促成投资合作，推动项目尽早签约落地。推动在建外资大项目建设，优化网上政务服务，建立政务服务快速通道，协调相关部门在用地、用工、水电等方面加大保障力度，保障企业投资按计划进行，把疫情影响降到最低。

各地商务主管部门应全面落实《外商投资法》及其实施条例和《国务院关于进一步做好利用外资工作的意见》等法规政策，同时应梳理国家和各地近期出台的各类"援企稳岗"政策，指导外资企业用好用足财政、金融、税收、社保、就业以及政府采购等各类帮扶解困政策，做到内外资企业平等对待、一视同仁，最大限度减少疫情影响。此外，各地应尽快编制和公布外商投资指引，发布办事指南、项目信息和相关数据信息等，为外商投资提供服务和便利，不断优化营商环境。

除以上国家层面的《商务部通知》外，为帮助企业共渡难关，各地方政府纷纷推出地方性扶助政策，帮助外资企业复工复产，推进外商投资项目落地。

2020年2月11日，山东省政府发布了《关于加快外商投资企业复工复产推进外商投资的若干措施》，提出了19条稳定外资的具体措施，包括协助采购防疫物资、加大信贷支持力度、减免相关税费、延期缴纳税款、缓缴社会保险费、推行网上招商、推进重大外资项目落地、持续改善投资环境等。

2月7日，上海市政府也发布了《上海市全力防控疫情支持服务企业平稳健康发展若干政策措施》，从六个方面颁布了共计28条具体措施，包括加大对疫情重点企业财税支持力度、减免企业房租、对相关企业和个人给予税收优惠等。在2月8日上海市政府举行的专题新闻发布会上，上海市政府新闻办主任、市政府新闻发言人徐威指出，"上海正在积极营造公平、公正的营商环境，上海会更好地确保外国投资者和外国投资企业享受国民待遇。在当前防疫的关键时期，上海出台的相关政策，对外资企业与国内企业一视同仁"。可见，外资企业可以和上海本地企业一样，平等享受当地的相关扶助政策，这也是新实施的《外商投资法》所规定的"国民待遇"原则的又一实际体现和落实。

2月11日上海市自贸区临港新片区也拿到了新政策，根据当日报道，上海市政府于近日印发了《上海市人民政府关于由中国（上海）自由贸易试验区临港新片区管理委员会集中行使一批行政审批和行政处罚等事项的决定》，将517个行政审批和行政处罚事项集中赋权给临港新片区管委会，以确保新片区管委会可以更好地发挥经济管理权和自主改革权，全力推进各项改革落地。这一最新发展，也再次体现出，值此防疫攻坚时期，我国政府仍在持续积极推进改革开放，优化营商环境。

我们相信，随着国内相关扶助政策的逐步出台与落实，此次疫情对于中国经济和外资的影响会很快得到控制，影响也会降到最低程度。经过此次考验，国内的整体外商营商环境也会得到进一步优化。诚如商务部新闻发言人2月10日在商务部召开的网上新闻发布会上所指出，"从总体上看，中国吸收外资的综合竞争优势没有改变。下一步，商务部将会同有关部门和地方政府，继续加大对外资企业的服务力度，协助外资企业积极应对疫情，有针对性地协调解决外资企业在投资、生产、经营过程中的一些实际问题"。

今年恰逢新《外商投资法》生效实施的第一年，在目前"抗疫"的特殊时期，我们会密切关注与外资相关的各地政策动向，并及时推出更为详细、深度的解读与分析，欢迎大家持续关注。

Supporting Polices to FIEs during COVID-19 Control

Written by: Audry Hong Li, Gao Qian, Liu Liu 

Since the beginning of 2020, the epidemic of COVID-19 first occurred in Wuhan and later spread across China. At the time of the crisis, people all over the country are united in helping to overcome the difficulties. In order to control the Epidemic, Chinese government adopted emergency measures such as extending the public holiday, delaying the resumption of work, and controlling key affected cities and personnel suffered from the Epidemic, etc. These strict control measures have effectively protected the lives of people. Undeniably, those measures have already and will continue to cause inconvenience and difficulties in economic activities and business operations across the country. Companies including domestic and foreign-invested enterprises ("FIEs") have suffered heavy pressures from waste of labor costs and rents, procurement restrictions, production delays and sales decline caused by the Epidemic. Some local investment promotion activities have also been affected.

During this difficult time, FIEs and potential foreign investors are concerned how to respond to and deal with the difficulties and potential investment projects. To address these issues, we prepare this article to summarize new policies and measures the Chinese government has promulgated recently to help and support the foreign investment activities .

Foreign investment is always indispensable to the development of Chinese Economy. For the purpose of  encouraging、protecting foreign investment and optimizing investment environment, the new Foreign Investment Law of China and its Implementing Regulations have already been put into effect at January 1st, 2020. Following the outbreak of this Epidemic, the World Health Organization characterized it as an "public health emergency of international concern". In order to minimize the adverse impact of the Epidemic on China’s FIEs and foreign investment activities, Chinese authority introduced supporting policies and measures at the national and local levels to cope with the difficult time.

On February 12, 2020, at the central government meeting addressing the latest situation of prevention and control of the Epidemic, President Xi Jinping specifically pointed out that, "We must promote to ensure the landing of major foreign investment projects and fully implement the Foreign Investment Law and supporting regulations to optimize the investment environment in China and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors."

Earlier on Feb 10th, for purpose of stabilizing foreign investment, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOC") issued the Notice on Actively Responding to the Epidemic and Strengthening Services for Foreign-invested Enterprises and Promoting Investment Promotion Activities ("MOC Notice") to launch five major measures to urge the local commerce authorities to provide superior services and guarantee for FIEs and help FIEs resume regular production and operation in an orderly manner. At the same time, local commerce authorities are requested to innovate in investment promotion activities, promote the landing of foreign investment projects, provide precise assistance to companies seriously affected by the Epidemic, and continue to optimize the business environment.

The main contents of the MOC Notice are summarized as following:

According to the MOC Notice, local commerce authorities shall actively help FIEs to resume normal production and operation in an orderly manner. Under the premise of the implementation of the required prevention and controlling measures, local commerce authorities should assist FIEs in the preparation for resumption of work in accordance with the unified arrangements of local governments, also strongly support them during the resumption of work. In addition, local commerce authorities shall strengthen their communication and coordination with local market regulatory authorities, and implement the foreign investment information reporting system to ensure that FIEs report the required information timely, truthfully, accurately, and completely. Different measures shall be introduced based on specific impacts of the Epidemic on various types of FIEs. Meanwhile, local authorities and other relevant departments shall jointly take precise assistance measures in helping FIEs getting through the tough time.

In view of the difficulties, like the blocked personnel flow, local commerce authorities shall continue their investment promotion through leveraging the advantages of Internet platforms and integrating various resources. Negotiations and signing might be conducted online through video conference and etc. For those major foreign investment projects under discussion, local commerce authorities shall closely track the progress of negotiation and the decision-making of foreign investors, actively strengthen communication and promote the landing of projects as early as possible. For those projects under construction, the authorities shall optimize online platform and establish fast pass to provide government services. In order to ensure the construction is completed as planned and to minimize the impact of the Epidemic, local commerce authorities shall also coordinate relevant departments to increase security in land use, employment, water and electricity, etc.

Local commerce authorities shall fully implement the Foreign Investment Law and its implementing regulations as well as the Opinions of the State Council on Further Proper Utilization of Foreign Investment. They shall sort out various policies recently promulgated at the national and local level in public finance, finance, taxation, social security, employment, and government procurement to "support enterprises and stabilize jobs", and guide FIEs to make full use of these policies, so as to ensure equal treatment to domestic companies and FIEs. In addition, local commerce authorities shall work out foreign investment guidelines as soon as possible, and make the guidelines, project information and relevant data available to the public, so as to provide services and convenience for foreign investment and continuously optimize the business environment. 

In addition to the above mentioned MOC Notice at the national level, local governments have also promulgated local supporting measures to help FIEs resume work and production, and to promote landing of foreign investment projects.

On February 11, 2020, Shandong Provincial Government published Several Measures on Accelerating the Resumption of Work and Production of Foreign-invested Enterprises and Promoting Foreign Investment to propose 19 measures to help stabilize the FIEs and foreign investment activities in Shandong province. Those measures include assisting in purchasing epidemic prevention materials, increasing credit support, reducing and exempting relevant taxes and fees, postponing payment of taxes and social insurance premiums, implementing online investment promotion, promoting the landing of major foreign investment projects, and continuously improving the investment environment, etc.

On February 7, 2020, the Shanghai Municipal Government issued the Policy Measures of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on Effective Prevention and Control of the Epidemic As well as Support for the Steady and Healthy Operation of Enterprises. The policy releases 28 measures from 6 aspects to support businesses during the Epidemic, including increasing fiscal and taxation support to key enterprises in the Epidemic, reducing rents, providing tax incentives for relevant enterprises and individuals and etc. At the press conference held by Shanghai Municipal Government on February 8, said by Mr. Xu Wei, director of Information Office and spokesman of Shanghai Municipal Government，"Currently Shanghai is actively building a fair and just business environment and will better ensure that foreign investors and FIEs enjoy national citizen treatment. In current critical period of Epidemic prevention, the policies introduced by Shanghai will be enjoyed equally by FIEs and domestic enterprises." The speech clearly presents that FIEs are on the equal footing with the local companies in enjoying the local supporting policies. This is an example that the "national treatment" principle stipulated in the new Foreign Investment Law has actually been implemented.

On February 11, we heard good news from Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. According the news report, the Shanghai Municipal Government has recently issued the Decision of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government concerning the Centralized Exercise of a Number of Administrative Approvals and Administrative Penalties by the Management Committee of Lingang New Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone to delegate 517 administrative approval and administrative penalty matters to the Management Committee of Lingang New Area, for better making sure exercising the power of economic management and independent reform for the purpose of promoting the landing of various reforms. This new development shows that in the current difficult time of the Epidemic, Chinese government is still actively promoting the reform and opening-up as well as keeping optimizing the business environment in China.

We believe that with the promulgation and implementation of relevant supporting policies by the government, the impact of the Epidemic on Chinese economy and FIEs will be controlled and minimized. We also have confidence in further optimizing the overall business environment for foreign investment. As the spokesman of the MOC said at an online press conference held by the MOC on February 10, "Generally, China’s comprehensive competitive advantage in attracting foreign investment has not changed. As the next step, the MOC will, together with relevant departments and local governments, continue to strengthen its services to FIEs, assist them to cope with the Epidemic through coordinating and solving more practical problems for FIEs during the process of investment, production and operation."

Running into the first year，2020，while the new Foreign Investment Law comes into effect. In the current special period of fighting the COVID-19, we will follow up the policy updates in relation to foreign investment in China closely and provide timely updates and analysis.