english.beijing.gov.cn
2020-09-30  |  

On the morning of September 24, the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone was officially unveiled.

The establishment of the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone is an important decision that has been made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The pilot FTZ will cover an area of 119.68 square kilometers, including three areas, namely the Sci-Tech Innovation Area which covers 31.85 square kilometers; the International Business Services Area (including 5.466 square kilometers of the Beijing Tianzhu Comprehensive Bonded Zone) which covers 48.34 square kilometers and the High-End Industries Area which covers 39.49 square kilometers.

First, the pilot FTZ will help build a science and technology innovation center with global influence. Beijing has more than 4,000 enterprises' headquarters and R&D centers. Its cumulative amount of venture capital is second to only Silicon Valley in the world. It has more than 40% of China's unicorns, which lays a good foundation for building a science and technology innovation center with global influence. According to the Overall Plan for the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Overall Plan), in order to make contributions towards building China into an innovative country and a world power in science and technology, the pilot FTZ will make greater efforts in strengthening original innovation, technological innovation and innovation in opening-up through more than 20 measures in three areas. These areas include optimizing the whole-process service system for all kinds of talents, finding better methods for protecting the use of IP and creating a world-class ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Second, the pilot FTZ will help build a integrated national demonstration zone for opening up the service sector. Since the launch in 2015 of a comprehensive pilot program for further opening up the service sector, Beijing has made more than 120 national pioneering policies or innovative institutional arrangements and has promoted six batches of 25 cases of innovation. Beijing will make good use of the pilot FTZ on the basis of the policy of integrated national demonstration zones for  opening up the service sector. Through the implementation of the Overall Plan, more than 40 measures in three areas, namely deepening the opening-up and innovation in the financial sector, meeting the demand for high-quality cultural consumption, and optimizing and developing aviation services, will be taken to further open up the service sector and build an integrated national zone for opening up the service sector at a high standard.

Third, the pilot FTZ will focus on the building of a pilot zone for a digital economy. Beijing is one of the most developed cities in the world in terms of information services, with a sound digital economy industry ecosystem and a huge foundation of market application. In 2019, Beijing's digital economy added value accounted for more than 50% of its GDP, ranking first in China. The Overall Plan will carry out pilot reform of high-level digital economy and digital trade through nearly 20 measures in three areas, including enhancing the international competitiveness of digital trade, encouraging the development of new business forms and models of a digital economy, and exploring the development of the international information industry and digital trade port.

Fourth, the pilot FTZ will attach importance to serving the national strategy for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The pilot FTZ will actively integrate itself into and serve the strategy for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as continuously deepening the coordinated development of the industrial chain of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The Overall Plan clearly states that the pilot FTZ should be built into "a new platform for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei industrial cooperation" and should explore diversified industrial cooperation modes such as headquarters plus production bases, joint building of industrial parks, and overall relocation.

(Note: Content source is from BTV-News)