The new Foreign Investment Law doesn’t just cut red tape – it also constitutes a milestone in China’s progress in reform and opening-up, as the country shifts toward a new model of high-quality opening-up based on rules and institutions.

Tightened oversight of its $20 trillion-plus wealth management industry are spurring foreign banks to speed up plans to enter the local market or expand there.

To the extent that it raises living standards, the “China Model” fulfills some requirements of political legitimacy. But, once those living standards reach a certain level, the Chinese people will almost certainly demand more personal freedom and political accountability.

In addition to its well-known economic progress, the Chinese state has made conscious efforts to cultivate an advanced legal framework that promotes the growth of a diverse and inclusive society. However, recent political moves censoring LGBT content may be forcing the country backward.

As China’s new Cybersecurity Law is now irrevocably coming into force, the question is more what foreign businesses can do to adapt to or mitigate the law’s effects. China’s political project remains self-generation in all senses of the world, which nearly automatically means limited or controlled engagement with foreign commercial counterparts. Foreign businesses need to understand this in order to position their own potential contribution to that process of development as a path to growth.

China passed a new antiterrorism law that stepped back from previous language of concern to global technology firms, but which still raises questions about its scope and the potential impact on companies doing business there.