"China's revised draft of the foreign investment catalogue is another incremental and positive development for foreign business in some, but not all sectors. The removal of the investment catalogue altogether, in favor of a short negative list, would be more ambitious," the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement following the release of the revised catalogue.

Responding to the call for a negative list, Gu at the NDRC said China would start negotiations on the list with the US at the beginning of 2015 as part of the ongoing bilateral investment treaty negotiations with the US, but it will take time for China to adopt a negative list for foreign investment nationwide.

"Better use of foreign investment can boost China's economy, industrial upgrading and technological advancement. We are determined and confident about further opening-up," Gu noted.

"Adopting the negative list for foreign investment will be a breakthrough in opening up the Chinese market to foreign investors," Zhou Shijian, a senior researcher with the Center for US-China Relations at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Working out such a negative list is very complicated, as it involves various parties and sectors. It may also face opposition from those with an interest in maintaining the status quo in certain sectors," Zhou said.

FDI slows in October, services sector favored

China drew $8.53 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in October, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Tuesday, up 1.3 percent from a year earlier.

This compares to a rise of 1.9 percent year-on-year in FDI inflows to the country in September.