On
the morning of yesterday (September 15), the Information Office of Shanghai
Municipality held a municipal press conference. Zhu Zhisong, member of the
Standing Committee of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Party Secretary of
the Pudong New Area, deputy head of the Leadership Team for the Promotion of
the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and director of the China
(Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration, introduced the achievements of
the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone at its 10th anniversary. Ruan Qing, deputy
director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Shen
Weihua, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Yang
Chao, executive deputy chief of Pudong New Area and deputy director of the
China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration, Sun Hui, deputy director
of the Shanghai Headquarters of the People’s Bank of China, Zhang Yi, deputy
commissioner of Shanghai Customs, and Zhao Yihuai, full-time deputy director of
the Lin-gang New Area Administration, attended the press conference and
answered questions from reporters.

On
September 29, 2023, the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone will mark a significant
milestone as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. This momentous occasion serves
as a testament to the pioneering spirit of Shanghai, which in August 2019,
established the nation’s sole new pilot free trade area in Lin-gang. Over the
past decade, this initiative has been characterized by a succession of
groundbreaking policies, the diligent pursuit of innovative practices, and the
continuous emergence of numerous landmark achievements. Among the 302
institutional innovations in pilot free trade zones that have been replicated
and adopted at the national level, it is noteworthy that nearly half of them
originated from Shanghai’s initial or simultaneous pilot trials. This underscores
Shanghai’s pivotal role as a testing ground for the comprehensive deepening of
reform and the expansion of its opening-up. The institutional innovations
realized within the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang New Area
primarily manifest themselves across four key dimensions.

Firstly,
our efforts revolved around benchmarking international high-standard economic
and trade rules, while fostering a high-level institutional opening up. This
involves spearheading the establishment of a system that integrates
pre-establishment national treatment and the negative list for foreign
investment. Additionally, we have unveiled China’s inaugural negative list for
foreign investment access, introduced a streamlined foreign investment
registration management process, and launched a multitude of pioneering foreign
investment projects across various open sectors, including manufacturing and
finance. Our commitment to innovation extends to the customs supervision
system, where we've taken the lead by introducing several groundbreaking
measures. These included the “entry prior to customs declaration” for
first-line operations, “self-transportation” within designated zones,
“centralized declaration for batch entry and exit” for second-line operations,
and classified supervision of cargo status. Notably, we have established a
unique customs supervision model of six special features in the country’s only
Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Area. Moreover, we have successfully
developed and operated the “single window” for international trade in Shanghai,
which now serves over 600,000 companies. This essential platform supports data
processing for more than a quarter of the nation’s total goods trade volume.
Expanding the role of Yangshan Port as a global hub port has been a key focus.
We have fostered connections with more than 200 vital ports worldwide,
implemented the “China Yangshan Port” international ship registration system,
and realized normalized coastal piggyback operations with foreign-funded liner
companies, bonded LNG bunkering services for international vessels, and
coordinated unloading services among ports in the Yangtze River Delta.
Additionally, we are dedicated to creating an international legal environment
conducive to trade and commerce. To this end, we’ve established the first-ever
free trade zone court and free trade zone intellectual property court.
Furthermore, we’ve introduced the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
Shanghai, while founding the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Arbitration
Court. These initiatives exemplify our proactive approach in exploring one-stop
solutions for foreign-related commercial disputes.

Secondly,
we remained committed to the path of market-oriented reform for factors, and enhancing
our capacity to allocate global resource factors efficiently. We’ve established
cross-border funding channels, pioneering the creation of a free trade account
system that seamlessly integrates domestic and foreign currencies. We’ve taken
a leading role in launching high-level opening-up pilot projects for
cross-border trade and investment. The results have been impressive, with
140,000 free trade accounts opened to date. The cumulative cross-border
receipts and payments in both domestic and foreign currencies have surpassed 142
trillion yuan. Simultaneously, we’ve elevated the internationalization status
of our financial markets. Notably, we’ve introduced global platforms such as
the Shanghai Gold Exchange International Board and the Shanghai International
Energy Exchange. Furthermore, we’ve brought to market innovative financial
products, including crude oil futures and No. 20 rubber. Over half of the
country’s international futures and options varieties are now listed here. In a
pioneering move, we executed the nation’s inaugural cross-border RMB settlement
transaction for liquefied natural gas in March of this year. Our commitment to
facilitating the flow of data elements has led to the establishment of the
Shanghai Data Exchange, and we’ve taken the lead in exploring spot trading of
data elements. Currently, we have nearly 1,500 data products listed within the
data exchange. Additionally, we’re building an “International Data Port” with
stringent standards. We’ve launched and successfully operate the National
(Shanghai) New-type Internet Exchange Point, while also initiating innovative
pilot projects for cross-border data circulation. Our commitment extends to
talent policies as well. We’ve implemented a more open and convenient approach,
introducing a direct connect system for permanent residence recommendation for
high-level foreign talent. We’ve also established a streamlined “single window”
process for foreigners seeking to work and reside in China. Moreover, we’ve
published a list of recognized overseas professional qualification certificates
and identified areas where there is a shortage of qualified professionals.
Presently, the total number of talents in Pudong New Area has exceeded 1.7
million, with international talents accounting for over 4% of the workforce in
key industries.

Thirdly, we have been enhancing the
government’s internal reform and advancing the modernization of our governance
processes. Our efforts have been centered around the comprehensive
transformation of the business landscape, covering every aspect of a company’s
life cycle. We have spearheaded pioneering initiatives such as “separating
permits from business licenses,” “reducing the number of permits needed after
the business license is granted,” and “one-license-per-industry.” These
initiatives have resulted in the issuance of over 5,000 industry-specific comprehensive
licenses across 31 sectors, significantly reducing the average approval time by
nearly 90%. Furthermore, we’ve streamlined application materials by almost 70%,
and minimized form-filling requirements by over 60%. We’ve taken a lead in
implementing progressive systems like registered capital pledge, business
entity registration confirmation, and the commitment for immediate market entry.
Additionally, we’ve introduced innovative mechanisms for business entity exits,
simplifying cancellations and persistently driving down institutional
transaction costs. In building a robust interim and ex-post supervision system,
we’ve established a “dual notification, dual feedback, and dual tracking”
licensing processing framework, along with a “dual randomization, dual assessment,
and dual publicity” regulatory coordination system. These steps have
revolutionized our government’s regulatory approach, focusing on credit, risk
management, classification, and dynamism. Our emphasis on an “Internet +”
government service model has led to the implementation of unified handling for
enterprise market access, enabling whole-area sharing of government affairs information
and full implementation of unified online government services. We’ve achieved a
100% completion rate for over 300 enterprise-related approval processes,
reducing the actual processing time by nearly 90% compared to the legal time
limits. We’ve also introduced innovative support measures, such as “intelligent
assistance” at service windows and “direct assistance” through remote channels,
to provide enterprises with a seamless and efficient experience, virtually
eliminating the need for manual document submission.

Fourthly, we have been dedicated to
concentrating our efforts on establishing innovative systems vital for
industrial development, thereby bolstering new momentum for high-quality
growth. We have taken the lead in introducing groundbreaking pilot projects,
notably in the realm of integrated circuit oversight, as well as the
implementation of a control and inspection framework for cutting-edge products
such as vacuum packaging. This has significantly reduced the time required for
goods to be stored by two working days, compared to prior practices. Furthermore,
we’ve successfully implemented systems for medical device registrants and drug
marketing authorization holders, leading to the launch of 21 new Class I drugs.
We’ve also initiated a pilot program aimed at expediting the entry of
specialized biomedical and research and development supplies, while facilitating
efficient and hassle-free customs clearance for specific R&D items,
eliminating the need for the filing of an “Imported Drug Customs Clearance
Form.” In our commitment to advancing the field of intelligent connected
vehicles, we’ve achieved over 500 kilometers of testing on open roads for
autonomous driving in the zone. Additionally, our domestically developed
Donghai Bridge Smart Heavy Truck Project has initiated “real unmanned” testing,
marking the world’s longest commercial operation scenario for autonomous
driving. We’ve pioneered an integrated supervision model known as “one company,
two sites,” and have successfully implemented integrated supervision for the
two major domestic aircraft production bases, located inside and outside the
Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Area, further facilitating the growth of
the civil aviation industry chain. Our focus on promoting high-quality trade
development has resulted in the launch of the nation’s first “Offshore Connect”
platform, designed to facilitate the authentication of offshore trade
transactions. Additionally, we’ve initiated the country’s inaugural “pilot
program for the import of remanufactured products in key industries,” and
actively nurtured emerging foreign trade business formats, including
cross-border e-commerce and bonded repair services.

Overall,
the development of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has been a powerful
catalyst for market dynamism. Its role as a demonstration and leadership hub
has remained consistently prominent, resulting in a comprehensive leap in
regional development and a significantly enhanced capacity to support national
strategies. By the end of 2022, cumulative foreign investment in the Shanghai
Pilot Free Trade Zone reached US$58.6 billion, constituting approximately 30%
of Shanghai’s total foreign investment during the same period. In 2022, the
total regional import and export value accounted for nearly 30% of the combined
trade activities within all 21 pilot free trade zones across the nation. Fueled
by the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Pudong New Area accomplished GDP of
1.60134 trillion yuan and a total industrial output value from enterprises
above designated size of 1.33902 trillion yuan in 2022. These figures are 2.5
times and 1.5 times, respectively, compared to those in 2013. Moreover, the
zone is home to a total of 432 regional headquarters of multinational
corporations and hosts over 250 domestic and foreign-funded research and
development centers, representing nearly half of the city’s total. Since its
establishment in 2019, the Lin-gang New Area has successfully secured
cutting-edge technology industry projects with investments exceeding 560
billion yuan. Its primary economic indicators have consistently maintained
robust growth, with average annual increases in regional GDP, total industrial
output value, and fixed asset investment reaching impressive growth rates of
21.2%, 37.8%, and 39.9%, respectively. It has thus become a pivotal driver of
the city’s economic development.

Shanghai will seize the opportunity presented by
the implementation of enhancement strategy for the pilot free trade zone. We
are committed to bolstering proactive planning and meticulous system design. We
will subject our systems to rigorous stress testing to identify and address
challenges, particularly in expanding our high-level opening-up. Our aim is to
explore innovative pathways for constructing a new development paradigm that
empowers high-quality growth.