The Standing Committee of the 15th Beijing People's Congress at its 38th session approved the Regulations on China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereafter referred to as the "Regulations"). The Regulations is significant for comprehensively and further implementing the major strategic decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to build the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (BFTZ) according to high standards and high quality. It will take effect on May 1, 2022.
Consisting of 11 chapters and 68 articles, the Regulations stipulates the positioning of BFTZ, management system, investment openness and trade facilitation, scientific and technological innovation, digital economy development, financial services, openness for advantageous industries, coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, management innovation, and support for talent services.
The Regulations also clarifies that with the focus on promoting institutional innovation and replicable and scalable practices, BFTZ will implement the Chinese central leadership's strategies on innovation-driven development and on coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, while keeping security within control a priority. The development of BFTZ will center around Beijing's position as the "four centers" (referring to the capital’s strategic position as the national political center, cultural center, center for international exchanges and center for national innovation) and aim for elevated capacity to deliver "four services" (referring to supporting departments and institutions of the CPC, the central government and military headquarters, facilitating international exchanges, developing science, technology and education, and working to better people's life), in a bid to boost the building of an international center for innovation and the integrated national demonstration zone for further opening up the services sector as well as the development of the digital economy, and strengthen efforts to build a high-level opening-up platform for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development.
In terms of investment openness and trade facilitation, the Regulations stipulates that BFTZ will formulate preferential policies to promote investment, create new ways to attract foreign investment and new incentive mechanisms, and improve project scheduling and follow-up services. It will facilitate BFTZ's move to optimize the management process for overseas investment and strengthen early risk warning for overseas investments and related emergency response. The Regulations will support BFTZ to develop cross-border e-commerce, offshore trade, explore new types of barter trade, and seek structural improvement in trade in services. It will also help the comprehensive bonded zones to provide innovative bonded services.
In terms of scientific and technological innovation, the Regulations stipulates greater support for developing makerspace and entrepreneurship bases, and facilitating high-tech enterprise incubators. Leading technology companies, world-renowned R&D organizations, and other bodies will be attracted to settle in BFTZ. BFTZ will be supported to expand international academic exchange to promote the opening up and sharing of infrastructure for major scientific and technological research, and build a platform for the commercialization of research findings. BFTZ will also be supported to delve into the protection measures for intellectual property protection in Internet, Big Data, AI, and other fields.
In terms of the digital economy, the Regulations stipulates that the construction of the new-generation information infrastructure in the FTZ will be strengthened and support will be ensured for in-depth integration of data resources and industrial development. BFTZ will explore and formulate rules for IT security, protection of data privacy, and management of cross-border data flow, promote the establishment of the system of related standards and market services for trade of data, and carry out international cooperation in the digital economy with all risks under control.
Furthermore, the Regulations also stipulates that BFTZ will implement the strategy of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development by creating a cooperation mechanism with Tianjin and Hebei, and supporting the joint development of areas within China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone and China (Hebei) Pilot Free Trade Zone. In addition, the cultivation and introduction of talent in BFTZ will also be enhanced. Power will be delegated to district administrative authorities to recommend talents for settlement, and to bonded zones' administrative authorities to issue work and residence permits. Also "one-stop" talent service desks and service stations will be set up, in addition to talent innovation and entrepreneurship service platforms.
(Source: The Beijing News)