What 外商投资安全审查 means
The review can apply to direct or indirect foreign investment in China and uses sector, control and national-security criteria. Certain investments require declaration before implementation, and authorities can also initiate review.
This is separate from the foreign-investment negative list, merger control and sector licensing. Transactions may need to clear several regulatory workstreams in parallel.
Where you see the term
Translation note
外商投资安全审查 is “foreign investment security review”. It is not the same as ordinary foreign-investment approval or national-treatment analysis.
Primary legal basis
Example
A foreign investor acquires control of a company supplying technology in a sensitive sector. The parties assess both negative-list access and the separate security-review regime.
Primary authorities.
18 Sep 2026