The State Council, China's cabinet, has issued a master plan for
three new pilot free trade zones (FTZs) in Beijing, Hunan and Anhui amid
efforts to elevate the country's opening-up to a higher level. The plan outlines the priorities for each zone and pledges to give
them greater reform space so as to carry out in-depth exploration and
expand opening-up. The Beijing pilot FTZ will focus on supporting the construction of an
innovation center with global influence. It will accelerate the
construction of a leading area for the expansion of trade in services
and a pilot area for the digital economy. The Beijing zone will also strive to build a high-level opening-up
platform for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei
region. The plan also details measures for creating a first-class
international environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, advancing
innovation in services trade management, and exploring the construction
of an international port for the information industry and digital trade
in the Beijing zone. The new pilot FTZ in central China's Hunan Province will focus on
building a world-class advanced manufacturing cluster, an international
investment and trade corridor linking the Yangtze River Economic Belt
and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and a leading area
for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa. The plan puts forward specific measures for the Hunan zone, such as
the construction of a high-end equipment manufacturing base and the
promotion of coordinated development of services industries in Hunan,
Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Expected to set the standard for opening-up in the inland region, the
pilot FTZ in east China's Anhui Province will focus on promoting the
in-depth integration of scientific and technological innovation and the
development of the real economy. It will accelerate the pace of its
pioneering role in scientific and technological innovation and the
cluster development of advanced manufacturing and strategic emerging
industries, and promote the integrated development of the Yangtze River
Delta. The plan introduces measures including promoting commercialization of
technological research results to support the Anhui pilot FTZ. The State Council has also adopted a plan to expand the area of the
pilot FTZ in the coastal province of Zhejiang. The added section will
focus on building a new type of international trade center, an
international shipping and logistics hub, and the construction of a
commodity resource allocation base centered on oil and gas. The section will also see the construction of a digital economy
development demonstration zone and a cluster area for advanced
manufacturing industries. China had earlier established 18 pilot FTZs in areas including Shanghai, Guangdong, Liaoning, Hainan and Shandong. Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said at a press briefing on
Monday that further expansion of the pilot FTZs aims to accelerate the
formation of a new development pattern through a higher level of
opening-up. The plan outlined distinctive tasks for different pilot FTZs centered
around new fields and formats such as services trade, advanced
manufacturing industries, scientific and technological innovation and
digital economy, Wang said. Enditem
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