What’s new: President Xi Jinping has called for the development of higher-level pilot free trade zones (FTZs) centered on innovation and aligned with global trade rules, state media reported.
The construction of pilot FTZs has been a key strategic move of the Communist Party’s Central Committee to promote reform and opening-up in the new era, Xi said, according to a report from the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
In China, FTZs are designated areas with preferential business, trade and financial policies that are intended to attract international businesses while testing economic reform and opening measures.
Xi said the zones can play a better exemplary role by committing to high-level opening-up, focused on institutional innovation, coordinating development and security, and promoting the innovative development of the whole industrial chain, among others, the report said.
The background: Xi’s remarks were delivered by Vice Premier He Lifeng at a symposium on the 10th anniversary of China’s first pilot FTZ on Tuesday.
Participants of the meeting included officials from relevant central departments and provincial-level regions with 21 pilot FTZs, Xinhua reported.
Xi’s remarks came as China struggles to boost post-pandemic economic growth amid waning investor interest and a loss of optimism among foreign businesses about the future of the world’s second largest economy.
China unveiled its first pilot FTZ in Shanghai in 2013, where it has tested a series of reform measures involving investment, finance and trade.
Guo Yingzhe contributed to the story.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)
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