As of March 24, altogether 137 of the 251 policies regarding the development of the “two zones” have been implemented in Beijing, with the launch of 32 national pioneering policies and projects. Breakthroughs have been made in the aspects of industrial fields and key areas and guarantee of production factors. More than 1,100 high-quality projects have been added to the resource pool.

Development of the "two zones" in Beijing Leads the Way

The development of the "two zones", namely the development of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, are the two major policies that have been approved by the central government in its support of Beijing. The development of the "two zones" requires the opening up of both parks and industries. The key tasks are to carry out institutional innovations, promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade, investment, and talent flow, and create a world-class business environment. This will be characterized by scientific and technological innovation, further opening-up of the service industry, the digital economy, and coordinated opening-up of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. At present, the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector covers the entire city of Beijing. The Pilot Free Trade Zone covers three areas for scientific and technological innovation, international business services, and high-end industries, with a total area of 119.68 square kilometers.

Development Momentum Directed Straight to Enterprises

High-tech enterprises will employ various measures including immediate approval after filing, intellectual property pledge financing, corporate venture capital enterprise income tax preference, technology transfer income tax preference, and more. A large number of policies and measures that have been initiated or pioneered in China have been implemented, and enterprises directly benefit from the policies related to the "two zones".

Business environment has been continuously improved. The CBD International Talent Service Center in Chaoyang District integrates 120 service items across 19 functional units, and enables one-stop and "single window" processing of foreigners' applications for work permit and residence permit. Haidian District gave a one-time award of nearly CNY 5 million to the newly registered China headquarters of overseas-funded financial institutions and foreign holding financial institutions. Tianzhu Free Trade Zone in Shunyi District has created a pioneering sharing platform for aviation materials, reducing the average repair period of a Boeing 787 aircraft from 60 days to around 35 days.

Environment for rule of law has been improved. On March 18, the Beijing Financial Court was formally established. The court will focus on the development of the "two zones" in Beijing, support the reform and innovation of financial services in accordance with law, provide judicial guidance for the development of green finance, inclusive finance, cultural finance, and digital finance, and both prevent and resolve financial risks. The development of the "two zones" involves 102 tasks and measures related to the development of the financial sector, of which 44 tasks have been implemented.

Worldwide Attention to the More Open Beijing

Along with the development of the "two zones", more and more attention around the world has been attached to the more open city of Beijing. According to relevant statistics, in the first two months of this year, 224 new overseas-funded enterprises were established in Beijing, with a year-on-year growth of 25.1 percent. Contractual foreign investment reached USD 6.61 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 150 percent. Actually utilized foreign capital reached USD 2.7 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 32.7 percent.

(Note: Content source is from Beijing Evening News.)