HANGZHOU - China has awarded a license to Royal Dutch Shell to trade oil products in China's domestic wholesale market. It is the country's first such license for a wholly-owned foreign company.

China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday granted the license to Shell (Zhejiang) Petroleum Trading Co, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell China, allowing the company's Zhejiang branch to carry out sales and purchases of oil products for its customers in the Chinese market.

In recent years, China has gradually loosened its restrictions on business operations of wholly-owned foreign oil companies in the country. Analysts say the latest license will increase the competitiveness of the wholesale market in China.

The move is also a sign that China is continuously expanding opening-up and market access to foreign companies and investment.

The US electric carmaker Tesla Inc broke ground on its Shanghai factory on Jan 7, becoming the first to benefit from a new policy allowing foreign carmakers to set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in China.

Calling China's development speed and efficiency "impressive," Tesla's CEO Elon Musk pledged efforts to "build the Shanghai plant into one of the most advanced plants in the world."

In June last year, China unveiled a shortened negative list for foreign investment, cutting the number of items down to 48 from 63, which has widened market access for foreign investment in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.