BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, addressing scepticism over enforcement of a new foreign investment law, pledged on Friday that the government will follow through and do what the legislation promised in protecting foreign firms.
Fast-tracked for approval at this month’s annual session of parliament, the law comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Washington and Beijing have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff battle as U.S. officials press China for an end to practices and policies they argue have given Chinese firms unfair advantages. These include subsidizing of industry, limits on access for foreign companies and alleged theft of intellectual property.
Some law experts and business consultants have expressed scepticism about how effective the law will be in protecting foreign firms from compelled technology transfers, given a lack of rule of law in China.They maintain that the additions to the law are largely cosmetic because Chinese courts are tightly controlled by the ruling Communist Party.