Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone: The phoenix spreads its wings and flies in the East China Sea

Source: China Economic Network - Economic Daily

Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone: The phoenix spreads its wings and flies in the East China Sea

Reporter Shen Zejin

Lingang New Area of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone on the shore of Dishui Lake. (Courtesy of the Administrative Committee of Lingang New Area of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone)

In the more than 7 years since the establishment of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, "dare to try" and "try first", continue to deepen the institutional innovation, reform and integration of the pilot free trade zone, continuously create new advantages in international open cooperation and competition, and establish an institutional system that is linked to international rules, which plays an important role in Shanghai's efforts to accelerate the construction of a domestic large circulation center node and a domestic and international double-cycle strategic link.

Achieve a breakthrough of "zero"

In the first half of 2013, the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone completed the stage from the establishment of the joint promotion working group to the formation of the overall plan at an extraordinary speed. On September 29, 2013, as China's first pilot free trade zone, China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone was officially established.

Weng Zuliang, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and secretary of the Pudong New Area Party Committee, said: "After the establishment of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, with institutional innovation as the core, it has taken the lead in building an institutional system that is in line with international rules in the fields of investment, trade, finance and ex post facto supervision, and more than 300 institutional innovation achievements have been copied and promoted nationwide. The negative list for foreign investment has been reduced from 190 in the 2013 version to 30 in the 2020 version. At present, 100% of the cargo declaration, all ship declarations and export tax rebates at Shanghai Port have been handled through the 'single window'. ”

"We have created a world-class international trade 'single window' in accordance with the highest international standards, and the declaration of goods exported from Shanghai port has been accelerated from 1 day to half an hour, and the declaration of ships has been accelerated from 2 days to 2 hours, which has been promoted to the whole country." Lu Feng, executive deputy general manager of E&T International Co., Ltd., a pilot free trade zone in Shanghai, which operates the Shanghai electronic port, said.

Zhang Jun, dean of the School of Economics of Fudan University, said: "The 'single window' of international trade not only involves customs, but also involves the huge reform of the management system of all investment and trade-related departments in the pilot free trade zone, which is a very important institutional innovation to create a business environment in the pilot free trade zone." ”

In April 2015, the expansion area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone was officially inaugurated, and the three major development zones launched in the first batch of Pudong development and opening up, such as Lujiazui Financial Area, Jinqiao Development Area and Zhangjiang High-tech Area, were officially included in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, marking that the construction of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has entered a new stage. In the past few years, the three major areas have achieved leapfrog development under the guidance of institutional innovation in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

On August 20, 2019, the Lingang New Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone was officially unveiled. Lingang is a fertile land for innovation and entrepreneurship that is known as "a 'golden phoenix' taking off" on the coast of the East China Sea, and the construction here is in full swing after the unveiling.

Institutional innovation leads

Yang Chao, deputy mayor of Pudong New Area, told reporters that over the past seven years, the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has adhered to the highest international standards and the best level, "boldly tried, boldly broken through, and independently reformed", and formed many institutional innovation achievements that have been copied and promoted to the whole country at different levels and in the fields of investment, trade, finance and government functions.

Yang Chao said that the characteristics of institutional innovation in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone are to focus on deepening the reform of "decentralization and management of services" and comprehensively strengthen the integration of reform systems; take investment and trade liberalization and facilitation as the core to comprehensively promote institutional opening up; take the national strategy of better service as the guide, comprehensively enhance the global resource allocation ability; and take the reform to stimulate market vitality as the driving force to comprehensively promote high-quality development.

Institutional innovation has stimulated the vitality of market innovation and the driving force of economic development. The reporter learned from the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics that even in the difficult 2020, the economic vitality of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone is still significantly enhanced, and the effect of trade facilitation reform continues to appear, which has effectively promoted the transformation and development of Pudong.

The investment environment was further optimized. The reform of the approval of the agency bookkeeping license has achieved remarkable results, taking the lead in establishing and improving the "Pudong New Area Agency Bookkeeping Industry Comprehensive Supervision Measures" and supporting systems, relying on the comprehensive supervision platform of the agency bookkeeping industry, to achieve visualization, intelligence, coordination, and precision of the whole process of closed-loop supervision, after the reform from the original 3 working days to 0.5 working days, some changes and filing matters are realized immediately, and the approval efficiency is leading the city.

Financial markets are further opened. The function of free trade accounts (FT accounts) continued to play, and the first batch of insurance institutions connected to the sub-accounting units of the pilot free trade zone, and since then, the three types of financial institutions of banks, securities and insurance have been fully covered. By the end of 2020, a total of 132,000 FT accounts had been opened, and the total amount of cross-border RMB settlement for the whole year was 5,431.18 billion yuan, an increase of 4.3% over the previous year, accounting for 41.4% of the city's total; the total amount of cross-border RMB overseas borrowings was 670 million yuan, down 84.2% from the previous year.

The trade service system has been continuously improved. On August 30, 2020, the State Council officially approved the transformation of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Bonded Logistics Park into Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone. The role of the free trade and cultural investment platform has emerged, and it has successively launched trade facilitation innovation measures such as the completion of the application for the approval of the import and export of works of art within 5 working days, the exemption of CCC certificate for the entry and export of works of art, and the exemption of the approval of the Bureau of Culture and Broadcasting for the filing of the entry and exit of works of art. The number of cultural artworks entering and leaving the country increased from 61 in the previous year to 2234 in 2020, accounting for 90% of the national total, and the cumulative value of cultural artworks in the bonded area exceeded 48 billion yuan.

Key industries are booming. In 2020, the output value of high-tech industries in the pilot free trade zone reached 290.578 billion yuan, an increase of 6.7% over the previous year; among them, automobile manufacturing, electronic information, biomedicine and other industries increased by 37.6%, 9.5% and 2.1% respectively.

Promote all-round opening-up

In recent years, Pudong has adhered to the construction of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Lingang New Area as the guide, continuously improved the energy level of opening up, and strived to create a frontier window for all-round opening up.

Lujiazui Financial City is the test field and main battlefield for financial reform and opening up in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. It has become a world-class central business district and the world's best investment destination with concentrated market players, professional talents and complete functions in China, providing the best development platform for global enterprises to invest abroad, business layout and resource integration. Zhang Yuxiang, director of the Lujiazui Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, recently said that it will promote the construction of two 10 billion yuan tax buildings, hoping that the economy of Lujiazui buildings can reach a new level.

The "Jinqiao sample" of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has been upgraded from "processing" to "intelligent manufacturing", and is moving towards the "intelligent manufacturing innovation agglomeration area" with global influence. On March 12, 2020, Jinqiao took the lead in building the "Jinqiao 5G Industrial Ecological Park" in Shanghai, and more than a month later, Jinqiao Comprehensive Free Trade Zone was officially listed. Yang Ye, director of the Jinqiao Administration Bureau of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, said: "As a participant in the development and construction of Jinqiao in the future, we will undertake a new historical mission and move towards a new journey. ”

Fu Jun, deputy director of the Zhangjiang Management Bureau of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Management Committee, said: "Zhangjiang should aim at the forefront of the world, accelerate the layout, transform the advantages of large scientific facilities into innovative advantages in research in basic science fields, and transform them into technological advantages for breakthroughs in key core areas, and make every effort to strengthen the innovation engine." ”

In December 2020, the "Global Operator Plan" was launched in the bonded area of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, the source of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, which will take 5 to 10 years to cultivate a group of "head" enterprises in the true sense of global operation, and form a leading demonstration effect in the whole country and even the world. Chen Yanfeng, deputy director of the Management Committee of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and deputy director of the Free Trade Zone Administration, said that he will start from three aspects: professional services, systematic support and pioneering innovation, and fully promote the global operator plan.

Lingang New Area has the advantages of "special economic function zone" and "special comprehensive bonded zone". "The opportunity for the development of Lingang has come." Zhu Zhisong, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Lingang New Area and executive deputy director of the Management Committee, said that it will accelerate the exploration of a new open economic system with strong international market competitiveness, continuously increase stress tests, and continue to come up with more breakthrough and leading reform and innovation systems and practical achievements, so as to provide Shanghai experience and Lingang path for The country, and provide Chinese wisdom and Shanghai model for the world.

Yang Chao said that in the next step, the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone will take the lead in implementing the mission requirements put forward by the central government for Shanghai, comprehensively benchmark international rules, increase stress testing, focus on creating an upgraded version, and strive to take the lead in building a functional demonstration area for opening up to the outside world that is connected with international high-standard economic and trade rules, a global resource allocation function demonstration area that integrates high-end element resources such as global funds, information, and talents, a demonstration area for scientific and technological innovation sources that gather global innovation resources, and a demonstration area for scientific and technological innovation sources that focus on industrial chains, value chains, and The high-end industry-leading function demonstration area in the core link of the ecological chain.