General

International trade has steadily developed, and the pilot free trade zone has moved towards three "improvements". In 2023, China will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the construction of the pilot free trade zone. "Over the past decade, we have launched a series of pioneering practices and achieved a series of breakthroughs. A large number of innovative achievements in the reform and opening up system have been replicated and promoted throughout the country, giving full play to the role of the Pilot Free Trade Zone as a pilot field for reform and opening up." On March 2, at a series of themed press conferences organized by the National Development and Reform Office, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao looked back on the 10-year process of the construction of the Pilot Free Trade Zone, The words were tinged with excitement.

Focusing on the way forward, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to accelerate the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port and implement the promotion strategy of free trade pilot zone. "The key to implementing this strategy well is to work hard on 'upgrading', promote institutional opening up through pilot docking with high standards in international trade, play the role of a comprehensive experimental platform for reform and opening up, and explore new paths for comprehensively deepening reform and expanding opening up." On March 2, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao said at a press conference held by the National Development and Reform Office.

After ten years of sharpening a sword, it will be sharp when unsheathed

The construction of the Pilot Free Trade Zone is an important strategic measure of the Party Central Committee to promote reform and opening up in the new era. Since the official listing of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone in September 2013, this year has coincided with a decade. Wang Wentao introduced that at present, 21 pilot free trade zones across the country have basically formed a reform and opening up innovation pattern covering the east, west, north, south, and the Hainan Free Trade Port has also set sail.

Regarding the role of the pilot free trade zone as a pilot field for reform and opening up, Wang Wentao explained from three aspects that the pilot free trade zone has become a leading force for high-level opening up. Many "firsts" have appeared in the pilot free trade zone, such as the introduction of the first negative list of foreign investment access in the pilot free trade zone, which took the first step in the management model of national treatment plus negative list before foreign investment access. The negative list of foreign investment access in the pilot free trade zone has been reduced seven times, with fewer and fewer entries. From the initial 190 entries, it has been reduced to the current 27 entries, and the manufacturing industry entries have returned to zero. The opening up of the service industry continues to expand, which represents an increasingly wide range of open areas. Hainan Free Trade Port has also launched the first negative list of cross-border service trade, realizing a fundamental change in the management model of service trade.

The pilot free trade zone has become a pioneer in deep reform. Take the lead in implementing the "separation of certificates and licenses", implementing the reform of the foreign investment access system, establishing the country's first "single window" for international trade, and creating the first batch of free trade accounts. Many "firsts" are practiced and explored here, and then replicated throughout the country. Currently, the Pilot Free Trade Zone has replicated and promoted 278 institutional innovation achievements nationwide, involving investment facilitation, trade facilitation, financial openness and innovation, in-process and post supervision, and state-owned enterprise reform, promoting the continuous release of reform dividends.

The pilot free trade zone has also become a demonstration and guide for high-quality development. Relying on China's super large-scale market advantage, based on its own resource endowment, attracting high-quality global resource elements, and promoting the continuous clustering of high-end industries. In 2022, the actual utilization of foreign capital in the high-tech industries of the 21 pilot free trade zones increased by 53.2% year-on-year, far exceeding the national average, with prominent attraction and agglomeration functions. Their respective trade pilot zones and free trade ports have continuously enhanced their ability to serve major national strategies based on their strategic positioning and geographical advantages.

Do a Good Job in "Three Improvements" and Explore a New Way for Opening up

In the next step, how can we continue to promote the construction of the pilot free trade zone and implement the promotion strategy of the pilot free trade zone? Wang Wentao stated that he mainly worked on three "improvements":

First, the docking of high standards of international trade and economic rules should be improved. Focusing on key areas such as trade and investment, government procurement, intellectual property, and the environment, we have formulated and introduced reform pilot measures, selected free trade ports and conditional free trade pilot zones to take the lead in building an institutional system and regulatory model that connects with high standards of economic and trade rules in international trade, to break the ice and solve problems in deepening reform in relevant domestic fields.

The second is to improve the level of market access. Emphasis will be placed on increasing stress testing in the areas of investment and service trade. A very important function of the pilot free trade zone is to conduct stress testing. In the next step, we will continue to reasonably reduce the negative list of foreign investment access and increase the opening up of the modern service industry. In the field of service trade, a pilot free trade zone and a national version of the negative list of cross-border service trade have been introduced, and a new model of cross-border service trade management has been adopted on a larger scale.

Third, reform system integration and collaborative innovation should be improved. Strengthen coordination across departments, fields, and industries, enhance the systematization, integrity, and coordination of pilot projects, comply with the current trend of emerging new industries, new models, and new formats, and further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation with mandatory integrated innovation. Focus on new generation information technology, biomedicine, and other fields, explore institutional innovation, and use institutional innovation to help accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system, maintaining the security and stability of China's industrial chain supply chain.