The General Office of the State Council has issued the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Investment Approval System. Following the overarching principle of "decentralization, efficiency enhancement, strengthened oversight, and coordination," the Opinions set forth systematic arrangements in such areas as approval authority, project management, service efficiency, and whole-process supervision, marking a new stage of in-depth advancement in China's investment approval system reform. The key reform measures are as follows:

• Standardizing the Approval Management of Government-Invested Projects

The approval authority for government-invested projects is divided among the provincial, municipal, and county levels, with enhanced review and appraisal management applied to key regions and key sectors to mitigate the risk of hidden debt of local governments. Government-invested projects must strictly undergo the full approval process, including project proposals, feasibility study reports, preliminary design, and investment estimates. It is strictly prohibited to circumvent government approval procedures through state-owned enterprises under the guise of enterprise investment.

• Standardizing the Approval and Filing Management of Enterprise-Invested Projects

The government-approved investment project catalog will be dynamically revised, with approval management applied only to projects concerning national security, major productivity layouts, strategic resource development, and major public interests. Enterprise-invested projects such as theme parks, large-scale cultural venues, and other cultural tourism projects, as well as public sports venues and exhibition centers, shall be subject to approval by local governments at the prefecture level or above. Projects requiring State Council approval in accordance with the law shall be reviewed by the National Development and Reform Commission and submitted to the State Council for approval.

• Strengthen coordinated linkage between enterprise investment administration, industrial policies and factor allocation policies.

For projects prohibited by the state, no guarantees shall be provided in terms of land, energy consumption, or environmental impact assessment. Where project approval authority is elevated, the corresponding factor approval authority shall be elevated concurrently. For industries with prominent disorderly competition, temporary regulatory measures such as suspension of approvals and filings may be implemented with the consent of the State Council.

• Enhancing the Efficiency of Investment Approval

The "one-stop approval" for fixed asset investment projects will be further advanced, progressively incorporating matters such as land use, sea use, forest use, grassland use, and cultural relic protection into the scope of unified acceptance and coordinated processing. Parallel approval items handled by the same department shall be consolidated. Relying on the fixed asset investment project code, information sharing across approval, construction, funding, and credit will be realized, promoting "one-stop online processing" and "one-code access".

• Tap the potential of private investment through multiple measures

Advance the fair opening of competitive infrastructure sectors to all types of market entities, and support private enterprises to participate in the construction of national major projects. Build a national comprehensive investment and financing service platform based on the online approval platform, support the issuance of infrastructure REITs to revitalize stock assets, and further stimulate the vitality of private investment.