The foreign exchange policy relates to salary income and other legitimate income of foreign employees of foreign-invested enterprises, it also includes employees of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan companies. No unit or individual may unlawfully impose restrictions on the currency, amount and frequency of inward and outward remittances.

In the past, foreign exchange remittance required approval from the foreign exchange bureau and banks. 

Shanghai introduced new measures in Jun.23 to free foreign exchange and attract foreign investment, and Beijing launched a consultation on a similar policy. These measures are in line with a series of initiatives by the Chinese government to facilitate foreign investment.

The Shanghai Municipal People’s Government has announced that it will permit free inward and outward remittances for all transactions associated with foreign investments in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (SFTZ) and the Lin-Gang Special Area, provided they are real and in compliance with the law.

Shanghai will permit all lawful transfers related to foreign investment in the SFTZ and Lin-Gang New Area to be freely remitted in and out of Shanghai without delay.

The policy is a follow up to the announcement on June 29 by China’s State Council about implementing international high standards for FTZs. The Shanghai FTZ is the first in the country to implement such a policy.

Later, China’s central bank and top foreign exchange regulator vowed that China will continue to open up its market for global businesses. Several representatives of multinational financial institutions expressed the hope that further efforts will be made to continuously improve the business environment.