China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has reportedly given approval to 13 foreign companies to enter the telecoms sector to offer value added services in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen.
According to a report from the official Xinhua News Agency issued Friday, the companies are allowed to offer services such as internet access and information services.
The approvals were issued under a pilot programme launched by MIIT in October 2024 to open up value-added telecom services in designated areas in those four cities.
The policy allows foreign investors to operate wholly-owned businesses such as internet data centres, and engage in online data processing and transaction processing within the designated areas. They can also access China's cloud computing and computing power services.
The report only named a few of the 13 companies, including T-Systems P.R. China Ltd., which is affiliated with Deutsche Telekom in China, and Siemens Digital Technology (Shenzhen).
The approvals also include Airbus China, which operates a digital platform for analysing global aircraft performance data. The Xinhua report quotes Airbus China CEO Xu Gang as saying the new MIIT approvals will enable it to launch more sophisticated digital solutions for fleet management and operational efficiency.
According to past reports, Tesla and HSBC Fintech Services (Shanghai) were also planning to apply to participate in the pilot.
The MIIT has given the greenlight to over 2,400 foreign-invested telecom enterprises as of the end of February 2025, up 30% year on year, the report said.
Apart from touting the benefits of added competition within the Chinese VAS sector, Beijing has also positioned the policy as an inclusive, investor-friendly alternative for overseas players amidst “simmering global trade tensions and a global surge in protectionism”, the Xinhua report said.
The Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission unveiled a plan last month to stabilize foreign investment in 2025. Among other things, the plan includes open the telecoms VAS market further, and introduce similar pilots for foreign investors in biotechnology and hospitals, the report said.
China’s appeal to foreign investors comes in the midst of an ongoing trade war with the US that escalated on Tuesday after the Trump administration enacted a 10% tariff hike on Chinese imports, including mobile phones and computers, along with 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.
According to Reuters, China responded with tariff increases of 10-15% on various US agricultural imports, and has placed 25 US firms under export and investment restrictions.
