China's recent move to take finished automobiles off of a list of industries where foreign investment is encouraged will not affect the operations of existing Sino-foreign joint ventures in China's auto sector, an official with the country's top economic planner said.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued a new guideline for foreign investment last week, moving "finished car manufacturing" from the "encouraged" list to the "approved" list.

An NDRC official explained that the move was the result of excesses in both production capacity and finished automobile companies in China.

"It was a normal adjustment in light of the development of China's auto industry," said the official with the NDRC's department in charge of foreign investment, who declined to be named.

"There is no such issue of tightening up, nor will it affect the operations of existing joint ventures in China," the official said.

China has been the world's largest auto producer and market by volume since 2009. Its auto sales reached 18.06 million units in 2010, while output rose to 18.26 million units.

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