Negative list to get shorter, premier says

The list of off-limit areas for foreign investment in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone will be further slashed, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, a pledge experts said signals the government's determination for further opening up.

The remark, amid a decline of foreign direct investment into China, is expected to ease mounting foreign businesses' worries that China's is closing its door to them, experts said.

"The negative list reduces government intervention and gives the market more space to stretch its muscles. We ought to further cut the negative list," Li said during a visit to the Shanghai FTZ on Thursday.