China News Network, Zhoushan, April 7 (Apprentice reporter Li Dian) The sea breeze was blowing, and the Mazhi anchorage in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, began to refuel as soon as a ship full of cargo stopped. Thanks to the “Declaration of Non-epidemic Release” system of China (Zhejiang) Free Trade Pilot Zone (hereinafter referred to as “Zhejiang Free Trade Zone”), the ship has completed all relevant approval procedures by Zhoushan Customs before reaching the fueling anchorage.
As the only free trade zone in China consisting of land and marine anchorages, Zhejiang Free Trade Zone has been promoting the liberalization of commodities investment and trade liberalization with the entire oil and gas industry chain as its core since its listing on April 1, 2017. In the process, the reforms of “up to one run” will be used as a stimulus to spur reforms in areas such as investment and trade, customs clearance supervision, government management, and rule of law protection.
Xia Wenzhong, deputy director of the Management Committee of Zhejiang Free Trade Zone, said that “Free Trade Zone for Bonded Marine Fuel Oils with Different Tax Numbers”, “Declaration of Non-epidemic Release” and “Shipboard Paperless Customs Clearance” indicated that Zhejiang Free Trade Zone played a role as a “test field” for reform. It took the path of pioneering and differentiated reform exploration, exploring 116 institutional innovation achievements and 52 “national firsts”.
China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Photo courtesy of Management Committee of Zhejiang Free Trade Zone
Featured exploration: centered on the entire oil and gas industry chain
Developed along the way, the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone has continuously launched innovative system achievements around the goals of oil and gas investment and trade convenience, high-end related industry agglomeration, legal environment regulation, and perfect financial services.
Take "bonded marine fuel oil mixed with different tax numbers" as an example. For a long time, due to the restriction of relevant policy factors, the domestic blending of different types of bonded marine fuel oil has been unable to achieve blending, resulting in the long-term cost of domestic bonded marine fuel oil being higher than that of Singapore, which has restricted the further development of the industry.
In this regard, in 2018, the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone docked with commerce, customs and other departments to promote enterprises in the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone to carry out physical blending and blending of bonded marine fuel oil blending and processing trade business.
"As a major reform and innovation initiative of the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone, the 'blending of marine fuel oil with different tax numbers' has effectively reduced the prices of oil products in Zhoushan and Singapore, and enhanced international competitiveness." Zhoushan Sinotrans Customs Declaration Co., Ltd. Business Manager Zhu Lihua said that the move to upgrade Zhoushan from a pure oil storage base to an oil storage, transportation, blending and processing base is of far-reaching significance to the construction of the entire oil and gas industry chain in Zhejiang Free Trade Zone.
China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Photo courtesy of Management Committee of Zhejiang Free Trade Zone
The word "new" takes the lead: walking at the forefront of reform
Looking back on the way, Zhejiang Free Trade Zone took the original intention of "testing the system for the country, building a platform for openness, and seeking development for the locality" as the starting point of the market, and carried out pioneering, integrated and distinctive innovations in the system.
A series of development momentum brought by system innovation has made many local enterprises taste the sweetness. Li Na, the person in charge of the Ship Fuel Supply Branch Company of Zhejiang Seaport International Trade Co., Ltd., told reporters that it was the first "declaration-free release" system in Zhejiang Free Trade Zone, which shortened the time for refueling oil tankers to one-third. In this mode, on average, each international sailing ship can save customs clearance time by 4 hours and save costs by 60,000 yuan. "
According to Guo Progress, Managing Director of Glencore Asia, in the past three years, the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone has optimized and simplified the process of bunker fuel oil filling and other aspects, and gradually improved supporting services such as trade financing. The business environment has been continuously optimized, and the company has received Real system dividends.
"Among the 52 'National Initiatives' in Zhejiang Free Trade Zone, the first, the first order and the first case contributed to the significance of formulating national standards and docking with the highest international standards." Commodity Trading of Policy and Regulation Bureau of Zhejiang Free Trade Pilot Zone Executive Wu Gangliang said that these "national firsts" grasped the unique special policies granted by the state, conducted the "first order" test with floor bearing capacity and efficiency, and launched the "first case" method and norms with the significance of formulating national standards. In order to effectively meet the highest international standards and promote the standardization process of domestic bonded marine fuel oil management and other fields.
The internationally renowned consulting firm KPMG Enterprise Consulting (China) Co., Ltd. mentioned in its third-party evaluation report on its system innovation achievements that the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone plays a role of contacting market players on the front line, realizing the realization of the reform goals and solving the problems reflected by enterprises. Combined, it achieved "involve people who can see the artillery fire in decision-making."
The port staff was picking up the cargo. Wang Gangshe
Experience "copy": mutual development and stable development
On the basis of existing innovations in other advanced regions, Zhejiang Free Trade Zone is strategically positioned to "build into an important maritime open gateway demonstration area in the eastern region, a leading area for international commodity trade liberalization, and an internationally influential resource allocation base." , To upgrade the more mature governance model, so as to "use it for me", and continuously release the system dividend.
For example, to bid farewell to the complicated multi-window declaration customs clearance, the current "single window" standard version of international trade has gone from offline to online, realizing the paperless customs clearance of ships in the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone. Li Na said that this greatly improved the efficiency of customs clearance , Saving the time cost of the enterprise.
The system innovation is based on Xiamen, Guangdong Free Trade Zone and other ships' paperless customs clearance process experience, combined with its own reality, to form a "shipping paperless customs clearance" mode.
"We will not only recommend the beneficial experience of self-exploration to the whole country, but also absorb the system innovation achievements of other free trade zones and re-innovate." Wu Gangliang said that such a system innovation model of mutual benefit has become the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone. The source of steady development over the past three years.
Focusing on the characteristics of oil and gas and upgrading the experience of others, in three years, the Zhejiang Free Trade Zone has “explored” new ways of reform with institutional innovation, and developed from “do not produce a drop of oil” to initially forming a “trillion-level oil and gas industry pattern”. In the future, there will be more grand and lasting new momentum for development here. (Finish)