Protection of Foreign Investment in China: The Foreign Investment Law and the Changing Landscape

China’s foreign investment law regime has experienced significant changes in recent years. A milestone came with the passing of Foreign Investment Law (FIL) 2019, replacing laws and regulations that had governed China for four decades. This article first undertakes a political economic analysis to determine relevance internal external factors contributing changes. It then discusses key characteristics FIL reveals how it is designed create liberal, stable, fair, transparent accountable promote protect investment. Although passage ushered new era China, many important issues remain unresolved further actions must be taken ensure its smooth implementation. To support sustained development regime, address existing are incompatible clarify fails address, issue clearer guidance on national security, shorten ‘negative list’, opening up enhance regulatory transparency.