In the first half of 2024, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises and the scale of non-financial foreign direct investment in Beijing both achieved double-digit growth. The total value of imports and exports of goods in Beijing reached a historical high compared with the same periods of previous years, with the scale of trade in services and the proportion of the trade in digitally deliverable services continuing to take the lead, injecting momentum and vitality into the economic development of the capital.

Nearly 7,000 New Projects Registered

It is reported that from January to August this year, nearly 7,000 new projects have been added to the investment promotion reserve project library for the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone[l1]  (the "Two Zones" for short), with over 4,000 projects launched, which involve a total amount of over CNY 1.2 trillion. Among them, nearly 500 are foreign-funded projects, involving foreign investment of over USD 13 billion. Since the launch of the building of the "Two Zones", nearly 30,000 projects have been registered, and nearly 20,000 projects have been launched, which involve a total amount of nearly CNY 4 trillion. Among all the foreign-invested ones, nearly 2,000 have been launched, involving a total foreign investment of over USD 60 billion.

Value Added of Digital Economy Sector Increases by 7.8 Percent Year-on-Year

It is reported that in the first half of this year, Beijing's digital economy sector maintained a high-quality development momentum, showing a stable and progressive trend. The value added of the digital economy sector increased by 7.8 percent year-on-year, contributing over 60 percent to economic growth. The value added of the core industries in the digital economy sector increased by 10.5 percent compared with the same period last year. From January to August this year, the computer power of four E-level public intelligent computing centers[l2]  in Beijing rose by 5,970P, with an additional 10,000P expected by the end of this year. Traditional data centers accelerated their transformation towards green and intelligent operations. The city's data centers have cumulatively consumed 288 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity, exceeding the total consumption amount last year.

A Total of 47,000 Transactions Completed Under Pilot Program of Facilitating Cross-Border Trade

It is reported that in February this year, following the approval by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange[l3]  of China, the Implementation Rules for Pilot Program of High-level Opening-up of Cross-border Trade and Investment in Beijing was released. Since the implementation of the pilot program, banks in Beijing have processed a total of 47,000 transactions for enterprises to facilitate cross-border trade, with the total sum exceeding USD 60 billion. Furthermore, the efficiency of fund settlement for the enterprises under the pilot program increased by more than 50 percent.

(Source: Beijing Business Today)