Abstract：Give play to the demonstration and leading role of the pilot Free Trade Zone in high-level opening-up
On March 1, 2022, Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce and deputy representative of international trade negotiations, attended the special press conference of the state information office on "upholding stability and promoting high-quality business development".
The first progress, just mentioned by Minister Wang Wentao, is that we have further opened market access and formulated the first negative list in the field of cross-border service trade, that is, the negative list of cross-border service trade of Hainan free trade port. This negative list has achieved a major breakthrough in the management mode of China's cross-border trade in services and taken an important step towards promoting the wider opening of the field of cross-border trade in services.
The second progress is that we have further reduced the negative list of foreign investment access in the pilot free trade zone. As we all know, the first negative list of foreign investment access in the pilot free trade zone was in 2013. After six modifications, it became 30 special management measures by 2020. Last year, it was revised for the seventh time, reducing 30 to 27, which is a further expansion of opening-up in the field of investment.
The third progress is the introduction of a number of trade and investment facilitation reform measures. A special document with 19 measures has been issued, including improving the convenience of trade and investment, international logistics, financial services and the real economy, and exploring the guarantee function of justice for trade and investment convenience, giving the pilot Free Trade Zone greater reform autonomy. We have also issued policy documents on strengthening ecological and environmental protection in the pilot Free Trade Zone, promoting high-quality development and strengthening fair competition.
Fourth, we have formed a number of new achievements in institutional innovation. The pilot free trade zone is not only for the development of specific regions, but also for national pilot projects to create good experience to serve major national strategies. Last year, a new batch of 18 best practice cases were launched, and the pilot free trade zone has promoted 278 institutional innovation achievements.
Fifth, the pilot free trade zone itself has been developed. For example, the pilot free trade zone has contributed to the stability of the basic market of foreign trade and foreign investment. Last year, the utilization of foreign capital in 21 pilot free trade zones increased by 19%, 4.1 percentage points higher than that of the whole country. The import and export of foreign trade increased by 29.5%, 8.1 percentage points higher than that of the whole country. The pilot free trade zone is small, but it accounts for 18.5% of the country's foreign investment and 17.3% of the country's import and export.
First, promote the pilot docking of international high standards in conditional pilot free trade zones and free trade ports, and promote institutional openness. Just now, Minister Wang Wentao has introduced that China has taken some new measures in the construction of free trade agreements, including applying to join cptpp and depa. Compared with these high-standard free trade agreements, we will strengthen exploration in the fields of trade in goods, trade in services, e-commerce and intellectual property rights, and promote institutional opening-up.
Second, promote the introduction and implementation of the negative list of cross-border service trade in the pilot free trade zone. As mentioned just now, last year, we issued a negative list of cross-border service trade of Hainan free trade port. On this basis, this year, we are ready to formulate a negative list of cross-border service trade applicable to all 21 pilot free trade zones, which expands the scope of opening up and accumulates experience for opening up in a larger field in the future.
Third, further support the development of export-oriented industries and contribute to the mutual promotion of domestic and international double cycles. We will guide the pilot free trade zone to focus on their respective strategic positioning, based on their local actual and comparative advantages, carry out the opening and innovation of the whole industrial chain, strengthen the investment promotion of precision and industrial chain, improve the service system of foreign trade and foreign investment, attract global factor resources of the industrial chain, and accelerate the agglomeration of advantageous export-oriented industries, So that the pilot free trade zone can play an exemplary and leading role in giving full play to the high-level opening-up.
Fourth, further form a new batch of experience that can be replicated and popularized. We will guide the pilot free trade zone to give full play to its initiative, strengthen differentiation exploration, and summarize and form more replicable and replicable institutional innovation achievements. First of all, the achievements of these institutional innovations should be tested first in the province, and the seventh batch of reform pilot experience should be formed when the conditions are ripe. After being submitted to the State Council for approval, they should be popularized throughout the country.