China's FTZ construction kicks good start in 2021
Aerial photo taken on Nov. 13, 2020 shows the night view of the sub-area of Heilongjiang pilot free trade zone (FTZ) in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
China's pilot free trade zones (FTZs) have achieved a good start this year in various indicators including foreign capital attraction, goods imports and exports, and newly-established market entities, reported Economic Information Daily Wednesday.
Data showed that in the first quarter of this year, the China (Guangxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Guangxi FTZ) saw newly-established enterprises surge by 402 percent year on year to 6,320. Of them, 32 are foreign-funded ones, up 146 percent year on year, with foreign capital in actual use expected to increase by 352 percent year on year.
According to the latest data from the China (Anhui) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Anhui FTZ), as of the end of February this year, the newly-established enterprises within the zone registered 3,999, and a total of 438 major projects have been signed and settled, with a contracted investment of 319.5 billion yuan. Besides, 91 headquarters projects have also settled here.
Recently, the headquarters base of the China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Chongqing FTZ) in Beibei District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality was officially completed. On the same day, the district also witnessed the signing, commencement and completion of 49 projects, involving a total investment of 28 billion yuan and covering strategic emerging industries, infrastructure, leisure tourism, public services and other fields.
Since the inception, the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Beijing FTZ) has seen Chaoyang District formulate 18 measures on the Central Business District (CBD) high-quality development and start the construction of Beijing CBD global investment promotion system, by targeting eight fields including global investment attraction, headquarters economy, digital economy, and international finance. Since the beginning of this year, the CBD investment service center has made 122 key enterprises settled.
The FTZs are also planning more breakthroughs in relaxing market access, advancing digital reform, and stepping up innovation in science, technology and finance.
The regulations on the China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Shaanxi FTZ), which will take effect on May 1 this year, put forward to expand opening-up in financial services, shipping services, commercial and trade services, professional services, cultural services, social services and other modern service industries, equipment manufacturing and other advanced manufacturing industries, and modern agriculture, and gradually reduce or remove access restrictions on domestic and foreign investment.
The China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Zhejiang FTZ) is promoting digital reform in an all-round way to build a strategic highland of digital reform for the whole Zhejiang Province in east China.
The current construction of the "digital FTZ" focuses on building a full digital industrial chain through digital right confirmation, processing, storage, trading and supervision, as well as a "digital trade industry chain" through data right confirmation, data transaction, safe and orderly flow of cross-border data, said Zhang Qianjiang, deputy director of Zhejiang free trade office, at a press conference held recently.
The Hefei Area of Anhui FTZ is exploring to set up a five-in-one diversified technology investment and financing system of "equity investment plus government funds plus social capital plus venture capital plus special funds", and provide targeted investment in technological innovation incubation projects by means of equity proxy investment mechanism, special funds for achievement transformation, etc.
