Banking: Immediately after WTO accession, the country removed restrictions on foreign exchange clients of foreign banks and allowed them to conduct Renminbi business in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Dalian.
The People's Bank of China - the central bank - allowed foreign banks to conduct Renminbi business from December 1, 2002 in five more cities including Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, Guangzhou and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, Qingdao in Shandong Province and Wuhan in Hubei Province.
Insurance: Upon accession, China allowed foreign insurers to set up joint ventures. Life and non-life insurers can take at most a 50 and 51 per cent stake respectively.
For brokerage for insurance of large scale commercial risks, brokerage for reinsurance and brokerage for international marine, aviation, and transport insurance and reinsurance: upon accession, joint ventures with foreign equity of no more than 50 per cent are permitted; For other brokerage services: Unbound.
Foreign life and non-life insurers, and insurance brokers were permitted to provide services in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, Shenzhen and Foshan immediately after China joined WTO.
Upon accession, foreign non-life insurers are permitted to provide "master policy" insurance of large scale commercial risks, which has no geographic restrictions.
Foreign non-life insurers are permitted to provide insurance of enterprises abroad as well as property insurance, related liability insurance and credit insurance of foreign-invested enterprises in China upon accession.
Retailing Services (excluding tobacco): Foreign service suppliers can supply services only in the form of joint ventures in five special economic zones (Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Xiamen and Hainan) and six cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Dalian and Qingdao).
In Beijing and Shanghai, a total of no more than four joint venture retailing enterprises are permitted respectively. In each of the other cities, no more than two joint venture retailing enterprises are permitted. Two joint venture retailing enterprises among the four to be established in Beijing may set up their branches in the same city.
Upon China's accession to the WTO, Zhengzhou and Wuhan are immediately open to joint venture retailing enterprise.
Distribution Services: Within one year of China's accession to the WTO, foreign service suppliers are allowed to establish joint ventures to engage in the commission agents' business and wholesale business of all imported and domestically produced products, except the distribution of books, newspapers, magazines, pharmaceutical products, pesticides, mulching films, chemical fertilizers, processed oil and crude oil.
Legal Services: Foreign law firms can provide legal services only in the form of representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Haikou, Dalian, Qingdao, Ningbo, Yantai, Tianjin, Suzhou, Xiamen, Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenyang and Kunming only.
Non-tariff Measures: Import licences and import quotas are eliminated in many key products such as wool, grain, cotton and chemical fertilizers.
Tariff: The averaged tariff rate has dropped from 15.3 per cent to 12 percent.
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