Lingang New Area of Shanghai Free Trade Zone Photo: VCG

China plans to expand its institutional opening-up trial program at the nation's pilot free trade zones (FTZ),MK socks which is aimed to build transparent, stable and predictable institutional environment for all business entities including foreign-invested enterprises in China, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced. 

MOFCOM spokesperson He Yongqian made the remarks at a regular press conference on Thursday, responding to a media question about whether China will allow more foreign consumer goods brands entering the country's pilot FTZs, and how FTZs have supported foreign brands' business in Chinese market in the past few years. 

The spokesperson emphasized that pilot FTZs are an important platform for the Chinese government to independently advance high-level opening-up, and a series of groundbreaking reform and opening-up measures in FTZs have created a favorable business environment has provided strong support for foreign-funded enterprises to operate and develop in China.

In terms of market access, China has introduced the pilot FTZ versions of negative lists for foreign investment and cross-border service trade, expanded market access in sectors such as value-added telecommunications, commercial services, finance, and culture, and promoted pilot projects in cloud services, biotechnology, and wholly foreign-owned hospitals in qualified pilot FTZs like Shanghai, said the spokesperson.

Additionally, to align with high-level international economic and trade rules, China has rolled out two batches of 110 pilot measures supporting qualified pilot FTZs and Hainan Free Trade Port in aligning with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). 

The programs have helped the areas conduct more pioneering trials in key areas such as goods trade, services trade, digital trade, and intellectual property rights, the spokesperson noted.

In 2024, the 22 pilot FTZs in China attracted $28.25 billion in foreign investment, making up 24.3 percent of the national total, the spokesperson said, noting the proportion further increased compared to a year earlier, demonstrating Chinese market's attraction to foreign investment.

He noted that, going forward, China will better leverage the pilot FTZs' role as pioneers in the nation's opening-up, promote the implementation of pilot projects aligning with international high-level economic and trade rules, to provide greater development opportunities for all business entities including foreign investment-backed enterprises in China. 

Global Times