English
On March 15, 2019, the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Foreign Investment Law") was adopted by the National People's Congress and will come into force on January 1, 2020. The previous Law on Chinese-foreign Equity Joint Ventures, the Law on Foreign-funded Enterprises and the Law on Chinese-foreign Contractual Joint Ventures (hereinafter referred to as the “Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws”) shall be repealed simultaneously. The legal provisions of the Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws can be abolished immediately on January 1, 2020, while the special system of the three types of foreign-invested enterprises (hereinafter referred to as the "Three Foreign-invested Enterprises") established under the Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws cannot be eliminated easily or immediately. The Foreign Investment Law gives the previous Three Foreign-invested Enterprises a 5-year transition period to adjust their organizational form and governance structure to be consistent with the domestic enterprises.
If compare the approved Foreign Investment Law and the Foreign Investment Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft for Comments) "(hereinafter referred to as the "2015 Draft") issued by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China in January 2015, it is not difficult to find that, the 2015 Draft has 170 articles, the new Foreign Investment Law only has 42 articles, deleting many articles which were widely and heatedly discussed for further consideration in the future. The finalized version approved this time only established basic principles and legal system of foreign investment in the general direction. What will the eagerly anticipated Foreign Investment Law bring about? This paper will address the following four aspects: 1. Promotion and protection of foreign investment; 2. The to-do list for the Three Foreign-invested Enterprises during the 5-year transition period; 3. Issues not confirmed by the Foreign Investment Law; 4. Mechanisms requiring follow-up implementation rules.
i. Promotion and protection of foreign investment
In order to create a better legal environment for foreign investment and give more confidence to foreign investors, the Foreign Investment Law proposes or reaffirms various investment promotion and protection mechanisms.
1. Foreign exchange in and out freedom
Foreign investors may freely remit into or out of China, in Renminbi or any other foreign currency, their capital contributions, profits, capital gains, income from asset disposal, intellectual property royalties, lawfully acquired compensation, indemnity or liquidation income and so on within the territory of China.
Although most of the items listed in the Foreign Investment Law are current items that can be settled freely, the statement of freedom of foreign exchange entry and exit by foreign investors in the section of "investment protection" undoubtedly gives foreign investors the highest security guarantee at the highest legal level.
2. Define the management system of “Pre-establishment national treatment + Negative list”
The Pre-establishment national treatment refers to granting to foreign investors and their investments, in the stage of investment access, the treatment no less favorable than that granted to domestic investors and their investments; the negative list refers to special administrative measures for access of foreign investment in specific fields as stipulated by the State. The State will give national treatment to foreign investments outside the negative list.
In the field of foreign investment, the positive management method of "catalogue of industries for guiding foreign investment" (classifying the industry into four categories including encouraged, permitted, restricted and prohibited) was initially used. After pioneering use of "negative list" in Shanghai Free Trade Zone, the Ministry of Commerce, through the Provisional Measures on Administration of Filing for Establishment and Change of Foreign Investment Enterprises and the negative list issued in 2018, has gradually adopted the "negative list" approach. However, these measures and systems are only administrative rules and regulations issued by the Ministry of Commerce, and did not rise to the level of basic law. The Foreign Investment Law is confirming the management system of "Pre-establishment national treatment + Negative list" in the form of high-level basic law passed by the National People's Congress.
3. Equal treatment of domestic and foreign invested enterprises
Equal application of supportive policy. The State's various policies in support of enterprise development shall apply equally to foreign-invested enterprises. The State may, as needed, establish special economic zones, or implement experimental policies and measures for foreign investment in some areas, in a bid to promote foreign investment and expand opening-up. As required for national economic and social development, the State encourages and guides foreign investors to invest in specific industries, fields and regions. Foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises may enjoy preferential treatments according to laws, administrative regulations or provisions of the State Council.
Equal participation in standards setting. The State protects the right of foreign-invested enterprises to equally participate in the setting of standards, and reinforces the information disclosure and social supervision for the setting of standards. The compulsory standards set by the State shall equally apply to foreign-invested enterprises.
Equal participation in government procurement. The State protects foreign-invested enterprises' participation in government procurement activities through fair competition. Products produced and services provided by foreign-invested enterprises within the territory of China shall be equally treated in government procurement according to laws.
Equal opportunity in financing. Foreign-invested enterprises may raise funds by means of public offering of shares, corporate bonds or other securities and so on.
4. Emphasize the protection of intellectual property rights
The inadequate protection of intellectual property rights in China has always been criticized by the international community, the new Foreign Investment Law reiterates that “foreign investors may freely remit into or out of China, in Renminbi or any other foreign currency, intellectual property royalties”, “The State protects the intellectual property of foreign investors and foreign-invested enterprises, as well as the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property obligees and relevant obliges. The State encourages technical cooperation on the basis of free will and business rules in the process of foreign investment. Technical cooperation conditions shall be determined under the principle of fairness by all investment parties upon equal negotiation, and no administrative organ or any functionary thereof may force the transfer of any technology by administrative means.”
5. Trade secrets
Administrative organs and their functionaries shall keep confidential the trade secrets of foreign-invested enterprises they have learned about in the course of performing their duties, and shall not divulge or illegally provide such secrets to others.
Where a functionary of an administrative organ abuses his/her powers, neglects his/her duties or engages in malpractice for personal gains during the promotion, protection or management of foreign investment, divulges or illegally provides trade secrets he/she has learned about during the course of performance of his/her duties to others, a penalty will be imposed against him/her; if a crime is constituted, the offender will be investigated for criminal liability according to relevant laws.
ii. The to-do list for the Three Foreign-invested Enterprises during the 5-year transition period
The Foreign Investment Law provides that, Three Foreign-invested Enterprises, established in accordance with the Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws before the effectiveness of the Foreign Investment Law, may keep their original organizational forms for five years after the effectiveness of the Foreign Investment Law. In other words, after the 5-year transition period, the previous Three Foreign-invested Enterprises should be in line with the domestic enterprises in terms of organizational form and governance structure and be consistent with the Company Law. The shareholders of the previous Three Foreign-invested Enterprises face the task of modifying articles of association of the joint ventures and the equity/cooperation joint venture contract, modification of these constitutional documents is not a simple task of literal change, the shareholders will most likely need to renegotiate to consider a lot of issues, such as to set up the shareholders’ meeting as supreme authority, power allocation between the shareholders’ meeting and the board of directors and other changes or adjustments in the corporate governance system. Taking sino-foreign equity joint ventures/cooperative enterprises as an example, the following table illustrates the differences in organizational forms and corporate governance between sino-foreign equity joint ventures/cooperative enterprises and the Company Law, so as to give you a more specific and vivid understanding.
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|
Law of Sino-foreign Equity Joint Ventures |
Law of Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Ventures |
Company Law |
|
Organizational Form |
Limited liability company |
Limited liability company or non-legal person |
Limited liability company, company limited by shares |
|
Supreme Authority |
Board of directors |
Board of directors or joint management body |
Shareholders’ meeting |
|
Legal Representative |
Chairman of board of directors |
Chairman of board of directors or joint management body |
Chairman of board of directors, executive director or general manager, manager |
|
Shareholders’ Meeting |
N/A |
N/A |
All shareholders (no more than 50) |
|
Board of Directors/Joint Management Body |
No less than 3 persons |
No less than 3 persons |
3-13 persons, or one executive director |
|
Appointed by each party |
Appointed by each party |
Appointed and removed by shareholders’ meeting |
|
|
Term of 4 years |
Term of 3 years |
Term not exceeding 3 years |
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|
Discuss and take action on, pursuant to the provisions of the articles of association of the equity joint venture, all the important issues concerning the enterprise, namely, enterprise development plans, production and operational projects, its income and expenditure budget, profit distribution, labour and wage plans, suspension of operations; as well as the appointment or hiring of general manager, deputy general manager, chief engineer, chief accountant and auditor, and determining their functions and powers, remuneration, etc. |
Make decisions on major issues involving the co-operative enterprise in accordance with the provisions of the co-operative enterprise contract or articles of association |
Exercise the 10 powers provided under the Company Law or other powers provided in the articles of association |
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|
Where the chairman is appointed from one party to an equity joint venture, the deputy chairperson shall be appointed from the other party |
Where the chairman of the board of directors or director of the joint management body is appointed from one party, the deputy chairman of the board of directors or deputy director shall be appointed by the other party |
The board of directors shall have a chairman and may have a vice chairman. The method for selecting the chairman and vice-chairman shall be provided in the articles of association |
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|
Management Personnel |
General manager, deputy general manager, chief engineer, chief accountant, auditor |
The general manager shall be responsible to the board of directors or joint management body |
The general manager shall be responsible to the board of directors |
|
Foreign Investment Proportion |
No less than 25% |
Limited liability company: no less than 25% Non-legal person: to be decided by competent government authority |
N/A |
|
Profit Share and Loss Assumption |
In proportion to the share percentage |
In accordance with the joint venture contract |
In proportion to the share percentage, unless all shareholders agree otherwise |
|
Equity transfer |
Consent of each party to the joint venture |
Consent of the other party |
The simple majority of other shareholders agree |
iii. Issues not confirmed by the Foreign Investment Law
After reading through the Foreign Investment Law and compare it with the 2015 Draft, we can find that the focus of this law is to establish the basic institutional framework and rules in terms of foreign investment access, promotion, protection and management. Many unspecified detailed issues leave us room for thinking.
1. Definition of “Foreign Investment”
With respect to the definition of “Foreign Investment”, in addition to the three clearly defined circumstances (a. a foreign investor establishes a foreign-invested enterprise within the territory of China, either alone or together with any other investor; b. a foreign investor acquires shares, equities, property shares or any other similar rights and interests of an enterprise within the territory of China; c. a foreign investor invests in any new project within the territory of China, either alone or together with any other investor), the Foreign Investment Law mentioned in a catch-all provision “a foreign investor invests in any other way stipulated under laws, administrative regulations or provisions of the State Council”. The last catch-all provision is quite vague. In fact, it does not clarify whether the widely concerned investment method such as control, hold the rights and interests of domestic enterprises through contract (for example VIE) or through trusts are “Foreign Investment” defined in the Foreign Investment Law, leaving room for introducing detailed implementation rules for each specific case.
2. What is “Indirect Investment”?
Foreign Investment Law provides that “foreign investment refers to any investment activity directly or indirectly carried out by foreign natural persons, enterprises or other organizations (hereinafter referred to as "Foreign Investors"), how do we interpret “indirectly”? Does it mean the reinvestment of foreign-invested enterprises? Then is further investment into the grandson level subsidiary of the reinvested company also indirect investment? Or can the indirect investment be interpreted as including controlling or holding the rights and interests of domestic enterprises through contracts, trusts and other means?
3. Legal basis for Three Foreign-invested Enterprises during transition period
For the previous Three Foreign-invested Enterprises established under the Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws, do they still need to apply the Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws as legal basis during the 5-year transition period? If the Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws are abolished immediately, what are the legal basis for the continued existence of the Three Foreign-invested Enterprises?
4. How to deal with the unique system of foreign-invested enterprises
The foreign-invested enterprises have many unique systems, such as the concept of "difference between the total investment and registered capital". These systems are created due to the uniqueness of the foreign-invested enterprises but are not provided under the Company Law, will these unique systems be abolished immediately upon the abolition of the Three Foreign-invested Enterprise Laws? To what extent shall the foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises be integrated? Is it necessary to consider the uniqueness of foreign-invested enterprises so as to retain the corresponding special system?
5. Are investors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan also “foreign investors”?
The Foreign Investment Law does not mention the investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Strictly speaking, the investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are not foreign investors. We understand that continued reference to the Foreign Investment Law should be the default rule unless detailed rules provide otherwise.
iv. Mechanisms requiring follow-up implementation rules
1. Complaint mechanism
The Foreign Investment Law provides that, the State establishes a complaint mechanism for foreign-invested enterprises to timely handle problems encountered by foreign-invested enterprises or their investors, to coordinate and to improve relevant policies and measures. If a foreign-invested enterprise or any of its investors deems that the administrative practice of an administrative organ or functionary thereof infringes upon its legitimate rights and interests, it may apply for coordination and resolution through the complaint mechanism for foreign-invested enterprises. And apart from applying for coordination and resolution through the complaint mechanism for foreign-invested enterprises, it may also apply for administrative reconsideration or institute an administrative lawsuit.
There are no sufficient implementation details of the complaint mechanism in the Foreign Investment Law, if refer to the 2015 Draft, the complaint office is the "national coordination and handle centre for foreign investment complaints", which will coordinate and deal with the foreign investment complaints with great influence over the whole country.
2. Information reporting system
The Foreign Investment Law provides that, the State establishes a foreign investment information report system. Foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises shall submit investment information to the competent department for commerce concerned through the enterprise registration system and the enterprise credit information publicity system. The contents and scope of foreign investment information report shall be determined under the principle of necessity; it is not allowed to require the submission again of any investment information that can be obtained by interdepartmental information sharing. Where a foreign investor or foreign-invested enterprise, in violation of the provisions of the Foreign Investment Law, fails to report the investment information as required to the foreign investment information report system, the competent department for commerce concerned shall order it to make corrections within a time limit; if it fails to do so within the prescribed time limit, a fine of not less than RMB 100,000 but not more than RMB 500,000 shall be imposed.
Although the penalty for violation of information reporting looks very serious, we understand that the information reporting system is not intended to impose additional burdens on foreign-invested enterprises, but only aim to collect necessary information statistics because of the management mode of "reducing prior approval and implementing in-process and post-supervision". The Foreign Investment Law finalized deleted the details of the information reporting system in the 2015 Draft, if refer to the 2015 Draft, the foreign investment information reported may include the following: basic information of investment, change of investment, regular reports (including the annual report and quarterly report of key foreign-invested enterprises).
Conclusion
After years of tortuous and difficult discussion, the long-awaited Foreign Investment Law was enacted in a blitz of massive cuts and omissions. Therefore, many media consider the Foreign Investment Law as an olive branch from China under the shadow of a Sino-Us trade war. It stays in the basic framework and lacks specific implementation details. We believe that the establishment of the principle of "national and equal treatment" at the highest legal level and the determination to promote and protect foreign investment in various aspects (especially intellectual property protection) have reassured foreign investors and responded positively to the concerns of foreign governments and foreign-invested enterprises in China. Imperfect action is better than perfect waiting, and we are once again waiting for the follow-up details to resolve our doubts and questions.
Chinese
翘首以盼的《外商投资法》带来什么
2019年3月15日，《中华人民共和国外商投资法》（以下简称“《外商投资法》”）由全国人民代表大会审议通过，将于2020年1月1日起施行。原《中外合资经营企业法》、《外资企业法》、《中外合作经营企业法》（以下简称“三资企业法”）同时废止。三资企业法的法律条文是可以于2020年月1日这个时点废止，依据三资企业法设立的三类外商投资企业（以下简称“三资企业”）所具有的各种特殊制度是不能轻而易举立即消除的。《外商投资法》给老的三资企业5年的过渡期调整其组织形式和治理结构，与国内企业并轨，同等适用《公司法》。
如果对比一下审议通过的《外商投资法》和2015年1月商务部发布的《中华人民共和国外国投资法（草案征求意见稿）》（以下简称“2015年草案”），不难发现，相较于2015年草案170条，新的《外商投资法》仅有42条，大幅度地删减了许多本想讨论的问题留白将来处理，这次审议通过的定稿仅从大方向上确立了外商投资的基本原则和法律制度。翘首以盼的《外商投资法》会带来什么呢？本文将在以下四方面进行探讨：一、外商投资的促进和保护；二、三资企业5年过渡期的待办事项；三、此次《外商投资法》不明确的问题；四、需后续操作细则的制度。
- 外商投资促进和保护
为了创建外商投资的更好的法治环境和给外国投资者更大的信心，《外商投资法》提出或重申了多方面的投资促进和保护机制。
1. 外汇进出自由
外国投资者在中国境内的出资、利润、资本收益、资产处置所得、知识产权许可使用费、依法获得的补偿或者赔偿等，可以依法以人民币或者外汇自由汇入或者汇出。
虽然《外商投资法》列举的这些项目大多是本身就可以自由结汇的经常项目，在“投资保护”章节声明外国投资者的外汇进出自由无疑在最高位阶的法律层面给外国投资者最高的安全感保障。
2. 明确“准入前国民待遇+负面清单”管理制度
国民待遇，是指在投资准入阶段给予外国投资者及其投资不低于本国投资者及其投资的待遇；所称负面清单，是指国家规定在特定领域对外商投资实施的准入特别管理措施。国家对负面清单之外的外商投资，给予国民待遇。
外商投资领域最初使用的是“投资产业指导目录”（将产业分为鼓励、允许、限制和禁止四类）的正面管理方式。自上海自贸区开创性使用“负面清单”后，商务部通过出台《外商投资企业设立及变更备案管理暂行办法》和2018年的负面清单已经正式逐步推进“负面清单”，而这些办法和制度仅仅是商务部出台的行政法规，未上升到基本法律层面。此次《外商投资法》是以全国人民代表大会通过的高位阶基本法律明确“准入前国民待遇+负面清单”的管理制度。
3. 内外资一视同仁
平等适用支持政策。外商投资企业依法平等适用国家支持企业发展的各项政策。国家根据需要，设立特殊经济区域，或者在部分地区实行外商投资试验政策措施，促进外商投资，扩大对外开放。国家根据国民经济和社会发展需要，鼓励和引导外国投资者在特定行业、领域、地区投资，并可以依照法律、行政法规或者国务院的规定给予优惠。
平等参与标准化工作。外商投资企业平等参与标准化工作，标准制定应当强化信息公开和社会监督。国家制定的强制性标准平等适用于外商投资企业。
平等参与政府采购。国家保障外商投资企业依法通过公平竞争参与政府采购活动。政府采购依法对外商投资企业在中国境内生产的产品平等对待。
平等进行融资。外商投资企业可以依法通过公开发行股票、公司债券等证券以及其他方式进行融资。
4. 强调知识产权保护
知识产权保护力度不够一直是我国在国际社会上的诟病，这次《外商投资法》重申“知识产权许可使用费可以依法以人民币或者外汇自由汇入或者汇出”、“国家保护外国投资者和外商投资企业的知识产权，保护知识产权权利人和相关权利人的合法权益，鼓励基于自愿原则和商业规则开展技术合作。外商投资过程中技术合作的条件由投资各方遵循公平原则平等协商确定，行政机关及其工作人员不得利用行政手段强制转让技术。”
5. 商业秘密
行政机关及其工作人员对于履行职责过程中知悉的外国投资者、外商投资企业的商业秘密，应当依法予以保密，不得泄露或者非法向他人提供。
行政机关工作人员在外商投资促进、保护和管理工作中滥用职权、玩忽职守、徇私舞弊的，或者泄露、非法向他人提供履行职责过程中知悉的商业秘密的，依法给予处分；构成犯罪的，依法追究刑事责任。
二、5年过渡期三资企业待办事项
《外商投资法》规定，依照三资企业法设立的三资企业，在《外商投资法》施行后5年内可以继续保留原企业组织形式。也就是说5年过渡期之后，老的三资企业在组织形式和治理结构上要跟内资企业并轨、一致适用《公司法》。老的三资企业的股东们面临着修改章程和合资/合作合同的任务，修改这些宪法性文件不仅仅是简单的文字处理，股东们极有可能需要重新谈判考虑很多问题，比如设立股东会、股东会和董事会职权的划分以及其他公司治理制度的调整变更。以中外合资/合作企业为例，列表如下说明与《公司法》在组织形式和公司治理方面的差异，可以给三资企业一个更具体形象的认识。
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《中外合资经营企业法》 |
《中外合作经营企业法》 |
《公司法》 |
|
组织形式 |
有限责任公司 |
有限责任公司或非法人 |
有限责任公司、股份有限公司 |
|
最高权力机构 |
董事会 |
董事会或者联合管理机构 |
股东会 |
|
法定代表人 |
董事长 |
董事长/联合管理机构主任 |
董事长、执行董事或总经理、经理 |
|
股东会 |
无 |
无 |
全体股东组成（不超过50个） |
|
董事会/联合管理机构 |
· 不少于3人 |
· 不少于3人 |
· 3-13人，可设1名执行董事 |
|
· 各方委派 |
· 各方委派 |
· 股东会任免 |
|
|
· 任期4年 |
· 任期3年 |
· 任期不超过3年 |
|
|
· 按合营企业章程规定，讨论决定合营企业的一切重大问题：企业发展规划、生产经营活动方案、收支预算、利润分配、劳动工资计划、停业，以及总经理、副总经理、总工程师、总会计师、审计师的任命或聘请及其职权和待遇等 |
· 依照合作企业合同或者章程的规定，决定合作企业的重大问题 |
· 行使《公司法》规定的10项职权或公司章程规定的其他职权 |
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|
· 中外合营者的一方担任董事长的，由他方担任副董事长 |
· 中外合作者的一方担任董事会的董事长、联合管理机构的主任的，由他方担任副董事长、副主任 |
· 董事会设董事长一人，可以设副董事长。董事长、副董事长的产生办法由公司章程规定 |
|
|
管理人员 |
总经理、副总经理、总工程师、总会计师、审计师 |
总经理对董事会或者联合管理机构负责 |
经理对董事会负责 |
|
外资比例 |
不低于25% |
有限责任公司：不低于25% 非法人：主管部门确定 |
无 |
|
损益分配 |
按股权比例 |
按合同约定 |
按股权比例，除非全体股东另有约定 |
|
权益转让 |
合营各方同意 |
合作他方同意 |
其他股东过半数同意 |
三、《外商投资法》未明确事项
通读《外商投资法》以及将其与2015年草案进行比较，可以发现这部法律的重点是确立外商投资准入、促进、保护、管理等方面的基本制度框架和规则，很多细节性的问题给我们留下了思考的空间。
1. “外商投资”定义
就“外商投资”的定义，除了列明3种明确的情况（a. 外国投资者单独或者与其他投资者共同在中国境内设立外商投资企业；b. 外国投资者取得中国境内企业的股份、股权、财产份额或者其他类似权益；c. 外国投资者单独或者与其他投资者共同在中国境内投资新建项目；），《外商投资法》最后用兜底的方式提到“法律、行政法规或者国务院规定的其他方式的投资”。最后这条兜底的规定比较模糊，实际上就大家广泛关注的通过合同（比如VIE结构）、信托等方式控制境内企业或者持有境内企业权益是否属于外商投资的一种形式未予表态，也给以后就个案出台具体的细则留了余地。“
2. 间接”投资是指什么
《外商投资法》规定“外商投资是指外国的自然人、企业或者其他组织(以下称外国投资者)直接或者间接在中国境内进行的投资活动。”这里的“间接”怎么解释？是指外商投资企业再投资？那再投资的子公司再投资孙公司是不是也是“间接”投资？还是可以将“间接”投资解释为包括通过合同、信托等方式控制境内企业或者持有境内企业权益？
3. 过渡期三资企业存续的法律依据
根据老的三资企业法设立的外商投资企业，在《外商投资法》施行后5年内的过渡期内，是否仍然需要适用废止的三资企业法？如果三资企业法立即废止，三资企业存续的法律依据是什么？
4. 外商投资企业特有制度的处理
外商投资企业本身有很多特殊的制度，比如“投注差”的概念，这些因外商投资企业的特殊性而产生的但《公司法》并没有规定的制度在三资企业法废除之后是否一并废除？三资企业与国内企业并轨的程度如何？还需不需要考虑外商投资企业的特殊性从而保留相应的特殊制度？
5. 港澳台投资者是否外国投资者？
《外商投资法》未提及港澳台投资者，严格意义上港澳台投资者并不是外国投资者，但是实践上一直参照外商投资法。我们理解继续参照外商投资法应当是默认的规则，除非具体的细则出台。
四、需后续操作细则的制度
1. 投诉机制
《外商投资法》规定，国家建立外商投资企业投诉工作机制，协调完善外商投资企业投诉工作中的重大政策措施，及时处理外商投资企业反映的问题。外商投资企业认为行政机关及其工作人员的行政行为侵犯其合法权益的，可以通过外商投资企业投诉工作机制申请解决。外商投资企业或者其投资者认为行政机关及其工作人员的行政行为侵犯其合法权益的，除依照前款规定通过外商投资企业投诉工作机制申请协调解决外，还可以依法申请行政复议、提起行政诉讼。
对于投诉机制的操作细节，《外商投资法》定稿删掉了原先2015年草案的细节。如参考2015年草案，投诉机关是“全国外国投资投诉协调处理中心”，其协调处理在全国范围内影响重大的外国投资投诉事项。
2. 信息报告制度
《外商投资法》规定，国家建立外商投资信息报告制度。外国投资者或者外商投资企业通过企业登记系统以及企业信用信息公示系统向商务主管部门报送投资信息。外商投资信息报告的内容和范围按照确有必要的原则确定；通过部门信息共享能够获得的投资信息，不得再行要求报送。外国投资者、外商投资企业违反本法规定，未按照外商投资信息报告制度的要求报送投资信息的，由商务主管部门责令限期改正；逾期不改正的，处十万元以上五十万元以下的罚款。
结语
翘首以盼的《外商投资法》经历了几年曲折而艰难的讨论后以大篇幅删减、忽略众多疑难细节的方式闪电出台。因而很多媒体认为《外商投资法》是中美贸易战阴云下中国递出的橄榄枝，其停留在基本框架，欠缺具体执行细节。我们认为在最高位阶的基本法律层面确立“一视同仁、平等对待”的原则以及表明在众多方面对外商投资促进和保护的决心（尤其知识产权保护）给了外国投资者一颗定心丸，积极回应了外国政府和在华企业关切的问题。不完美的行动胜过完美的等待，而我们也再次翘首以待后续细则的出台解决我们的各种疑惑。