On 12 January 2017, China's State Council issued the Expansion of Liberalization and the Active Utilization of Foreign Investment Circular Several Measures.

The State Council Liberalization Measures set out framework policies to promote further liberalization of certain sectors of the Chinese economy to foreign direct investment ("FDI"), against a background of China imposing new foreign exchange controls on outbound direct investment ("ODI") by Chinese investors as a result of China's concerns that its outflows of foreign currency are exceeding its inflows, leading to capital flight, a reduction in China's foreign exchange reserves and downward pressure on the Renminbi.