China To Relax Joint Venture Requirements For Manufacturing

On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a planned rollback of the manufacturing foreign ownership limits first set forth in the 1990s, which require that manufacturing operations in China be at least 50% Chinese owned. Specifically, China will begin by eliminating this ownership requirement for electric vehicle production and gradually roll back the requirements for all other automobiles as well as airplane manufacturing and shipbuilding until all limits are lifted in 2022. This move, coupled with China's aggressive 10% electric vehicle mandate starting in 2019, emphasizes the concerted efforts being taken by the Chinese government to dominate the future global electric vehicle manufacturing industry.