Foreign investors will have easier access to the Chinese market as regulators vow to loosen restrictions and streamline the approval process, said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

The Ministry published a draft of the new foreign investment law this week, announcing that a “negative list” model will be applied nationwide for overseas investors. It means that only sectors on the negative list need prior approval for foreign investment. All other sectors would be open to such involvement.

But all investors would still have to submit their investment plan to regulators, the Ministry said in a statement accompanying the draft law.

“[The new measures] can create a stable, transparent and predictable environment for foreign investors in China,” it added.

The “negative list” was first applied in 2013 at the Shanghai free trade zone, an area promoted as a testing ground for economic reforms in China.

The Ministry did not say when the bill, which will replace three existing laws regarding foreign investment, would come into force. The Ministry is gathering opinions on the draft until February 17.