CHINA’S PEOPLE’S CONGRESS PASSES NEW FOREIGN INVESTMENT LAW

BEIJING— China’s rubberstamp National People’s Congress on Friday approved a foreign investment that may serve as an olive branch in trade talks with the United States.

The legislature voted 2,929 in favor of the law—with eight against and eight abstentions—barely three months after a first draft was debated, an unusually quick turnaround for the legislature, which meets once a year.

Ongoing trade talks

The move came as US and Chinese negotiators held complex talks aimed at resolving a months-long trade war that has pounded businesses with tariffs on $360 billion in twoway commerce.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the negotiations should wrap up within four weeks, adding: “We are getting what we have to get.”

China’s top trade negotiator, Liu He, held phone talks with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, with the official Xinhua news agency saying they made “substantial progress.”

Concessions

The bill will eliminate the requirement for foreign enterprises to transfer proprietary technology to Chinese jointventure partners and protect against “illegal government interference.”

The legislation will come into force on Jan. 1, 2020.

China would also amend its intellectual property law and “introduce a punitive damages mechanism to ensure that all infringements will be seriously dealt with,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said.

The changes will “ensure violators have no place to hide,” he said.