China plans to ban local governments from forcing foreign companies to transfer proprietary technology to their Chinese partners, to address a complaint at the heart of the US-China trade and technology dispute.
The government is considering a streamlined foreign investment law that would replace the regime governing which industries are open to foreigners and the conditions under which they can enter, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Foreign companies complain that they are required to operate through Sino-foreign joint ventures in many industries, forcing them to transfer valuable technology to Chinese partners, who later go on to compete with the foreign investor through the partner’s parent company.