How did the pilot free trade zone do this year?
On September 28, the first section of Guangzhou Metro Line 18 was officially opened for operation.
The line has a total length of 58.3 kilometers and has achieved the time and space goal of 30 minutes from the Nansha area of the Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone to the central city of Guangzhou.
The picture shows passengers understanding the operation of the subway.
Photo by our reporter Cheng Yuanzhou
2021 is the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and also the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the World Trade Organization.
Over the past 20 years, China’s overall tariff level has dropped from 15.3% to 7.4%, which is deeply integrated into the world economy.
Especially in recent years, China has successively established 21 pilot free trade zones and Hainan Free Trade Port (hereinafter referred to as the "Pilot Free Trade Zone") across the country, further deepening its opening up to the outside world in a larger, wider area, and deeper level. Opening up to promote reform and development has continued to show results.
According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to November 2021, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 3,53903 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.0%, and a shining open report card was handed in.
Among them, what key tasks have been done in pilot free trade zones in various parts of China, and what are the highlights?
Boldly explore to improve efficiency
Since the beginning of this year, the respective pilot trade zones have taken institutional innovation as the core, boldly experimented, boldly pursued, and independently reformed, giving full play to the important role of the "test field".
Some innovation and transformation, expand import and export channels.
On December 11, a batch of spare parts and equipment from Zibo, Linyi, Yiwu and other places gathered at the Eurasian Transport and Trade Assembly Center in Zhangjin Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Jinan, Shandong.
Subsequently, part of it was transported to Huangdao Wharf to rush to load the freighter destined for Jakarta, Indonesia, and the other part was transported to Dongjia Railway Freight Station and boarded the train bound for Almaty, Kazakhstan.
"The changes this year make me need to re-understand the import and export transportation of goods!" said Liu Yue, deputy general manager of Jinan Lugang Bonded Logistics Co., Ltd. It has always been limited to the assembly of goods.
Because of location reasons, the surrounding foreign trade companies are also relatively small, and sometimes it is difficult to “assemble” a container for import and export, and it is difficult to form a scale effect.
The change comes from the realization of "three-zone superposition" between Zhangjin Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Jinan High-tech Zone, and Jinan Area of Shandong Pilot Free Trade Zone.
On the one hand, the construction of the Shandong Pilot Free Trade Zone provides hardware supplements and policy support for maritime transport, China-Europe freight trains, and aviation international transport services, which broadens the "Jinan International Logistics Channel". In addition to Shandong Province, the supply of goods in neighboring provinces has also begun to increase. Jinan assembled.
On the other hand, the development of the pilot free trade zone has further stimulated the vitality of the local economy.
Since the beginning of this year, the number of new enterprises in the Jinan area of the Shandong Pilot Free Trade Zone has exceeded 10,000, an increase of 21% over the same period last year, and the actual use of foreign capital has reached nearly US$2 billion.
"If the development of the company used to be one step at a time, then now we have to run!" Liu Yue said.
Some start with details to effectively solve corporate pain points.
On the morning of December 16, the 30 millionth TEU loaded and unloaded in Ningbo Zhoushan Port in 2021 was lifted at the Smart Wharf in Meishan Port District.
This marks that Ningbo Zhoushan Port has become the world's third 30 million-class container port after Shanghai Port and Singapore Port, and it is also the second super-large port in China that has exceeded 30 million TEUs since 2011.
Behind the achievements, it is inseparable from the support of relevant reform measures in the pilot free trade zone.
Take container transport vehicles as an example. A series of problems such as difficulty in refueling and expensive refueling caused by the "stacking" restrict the throughput efficiency of the port.
In response, Beilun District, Ningbo City, an important part of the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone, piloted the “shared refueling” model to promote the establishment of shared refueling devices by logistics companies that meet the requirements of use and safety, so as to “refine the fuel demand of vehicles into a whole”. ", thereby reducing business costs and improving logistics efficiency.
"The company has 43 container trucks, and each truck consumes more than 2.5 tons of diesel per month. In the past, most of these trucks were added to the retail price of diesel at gas stations in various places. After the implementation of'shared refueling', we directly purchased them at wholesale prices. Importing diesel fuel is about 1.3 yuan lower than the market retail price per liter. This alone can save at least 160,000 yuan a month." said Cheng Jinhui, the person in charge of Ningbo Xiahui Container Transportation Co., Ltd.
Make full use of the characteristics of misplaced development
The pilot free trade zone stretches across the east, middle, and west. How to make full use of characteristics and develop in a dislocation is an inevitable requirement to promote the mutual promotion of domestic and international double cycles.
—— Make good use of policy support.
On July 8 this year, the General Administration of Customs issued the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Tax Collection and Administration of Domestic Sales of Value-added Goods Processed in Yangpu Bonded Port Area."
In just 15 days, the Yangpu Port Customs accepted and released 500 tons of soybean oil processed by Hainan Auska International Grain and Oil Co., Ltd. for domestic sales.
According to reports, the import value of this batch of soybean oil is 4.55 million yuan and enjoys a tariff exemption of 410,000 yuan.
This move also marks the implementation of the “first-line” liberalization of the Hainan Free Trade Port, and the “second-line” management of the first-line processing value-added domestic sales tax collection and management policy.
Zhang Hui, general manager of the company, said that the "big red envelope" of the 30% domestic tariff-free policy of processing value added by Hainan Free Trade Port has helped companies tangibly reduce costs and obtain huge business opportunities.
"Since the start of production in July this year, the company has completed a total of 95 processing value-added services, exempted from customs duties of about 17.58 million yuan."
-Cultivate market players.
According to a data provided by the Henan Pilot Free Trade Zone to our reporter, in the first 10 months of 2021, 17,262 new enterprises were established in the Henan Pilot Free Trade Zone, an increase of 8% year-on-year; 60 foreign-funded enterprises were newly established, an increase of 22.5% year-on-year. ; The actual use of foreign capital was US$1.63 billion, an increase of 16.1%, and the market players in the pilot free trade zone were accelerating their growth and gathering.
Among them, adapting measures to local conditions is the key.
For example, in May this year, Zhengzhou and Kaifeng areas of the Henan Pilot Free Trade Zone launched cross-regional administration of enterprise-related administrative examination and approval services, involving enterprise establishment, project construction, tax registration, and issuance of certificates of origin, so that the majority of enterprises and individuals can fully Enjoy the dividends brought by the reform of "decentralization, management and service".
For another example, the Luoyang area of the Henan Pilot Free Trade Zone closely follows the characteristics and work conditions of the professional and technical personnel of private enterprises, and has issued the "Working Methods for the Evaluation of Professional and Technical Personnel in Private Economic Organizations" to further break the constraints of household registration, region, identity, and files, and build The career development channel of highly skilled talents and engineering technical talents has attracted more talents.
——Optimize the supervision system.
Not long ago, a China-Europe express train loaded with timber was directly transported to Chengdu through the Khorgos Railway Port through the "Express Rail Link" model, and was quickly released after customs clearance procedures.
The smooth customs clearance of this batch of goods marked the official launch of the "Railway Express" business model in the Chengdu Qingbaijiang Railway Port Area in the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone, providing a basis for subsequent process interoperability, mutual recognition of supervision, and mutual assistance in law enforcement between the port and the inland customs. Effective support.
"With the'Express Rail Link' model, goods do not need to go through customs transit at the port of entry, and they can go through customs clearance supervision procedures after they arrive in Chengdu. The overall customs clearance time of the goods is 2 to 3 days faster than before, and the cost of single-ticket customs clearance can be reduced. A reduction of about 1,200 yuan!" said Chen Pu, a customs broker of Chongqing Bolitong International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd.
Policy intensive release of dividends
The "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for Business Development" issued by the Ministry of Commerce clearly stated that the pilot free trade zone should be used as a pioneer, deepen the exploration of innovative, integrated, and differentiated reforms, and promote domestic and foreign talents, capital, technology, and technology. Regarding the free flow of data and other factors, we will intensify institutional innovation and strengthen the ability to gather production factors and market allocation in the Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Since the beginning of this year, the "14th Five-Year Plan" of various localities has also been issued one after another, making a localized layout of the pilot free trade zone.
The Hebei Pilot Free Trade Zone proposes to accelerate the construction of free and convenient trade and investment, high-end high-tech industry clusters, open and innovative financial services, inclusive and prudent government governance, and highly coordinated regional development, and strive to build a “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Demonstration Zone, a Leading Zone for Opening-up, and Institutions Innovation Pioneer Zone and Emerging Industry Concentration Zone”; Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone proposes to form a system of “customs, exchange, tax, and financing” that matches high-level openness and high-quality development by 2025, and become both international and domestic markets , Onshore and offshore businesses, investment, trade, finance and logistics, etc., a new highland for opening to the outside world; the Liaoning Pilot Free Trade Zone focuses on the revitalization of the old industrial base in Northeast China and the new characteristics of opening up in Northeast Asia, and puts forward efforts to break the bottleneck of factor aggregation and create system integration "Innovation Zone"...
According to the relevant person in charge of the Lianyungang area of the Jiangsu Pilot Free Trade Zone, the Lianyungang Free Trade Area has been approved for two years. With continuous efforts in the business environment, a total of 105 institutional innovation results have been formed, and the number of enterprises in the area has exceeded 14,000, which is 11 times more than before approval.
"Next, we will give full play to the advantages of the east-west opening of the free trade pilot zone, make good use of the free trade pilot zone alliance along the land bridge, and deeply participate in the domestic and international division of labor. Improve the energy level of the international seaport hub, accelerate the construction of green ports and smart ports, and deepen the bulk Commodity distribution center construction. Accelerate integration into the national development strategy of the Yangtze River Delta, and coordinate to create a new highland for regional development and openness that connects the Yangtze River Delta, covers northern Jiangsu and southwestern Shandong, and serves the land bridge." The person in charge said.
Pan Helin, executive dean of the Digital Economy Research Institute of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, said in an interview with our reporter that the 21 free trade pilot zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port are windows for China to open up to the outside world.
Through this window, China has established closer international trade relations, and at the same time gradually promoted capital account opening and financial opening, thereby further increasing the overall opening of China's economy.
"In the past year, the pilot free trade zone has not only contributed to the stability of foreign trade and foreign investment in the country, but also greatly promoted the development of the export-oriented economy and industrial development of itself and the surrounding regions. Reform and innovation are the functions of the pilot free trade zone. Soul. At present, the 21 pilot free trade zones have replicated and promoted hundreds of institutional innovations across the country. In the future, we must further exert the pioneering effect of opening up, and benchmark internationally to increase trade and investment liberalization and other innovation breakthroughs to better lead Open." Pan Helin said.
Wang Junling