China to further deepen reform, opening up in FTZs: official

China has published plans to further deepen reform and open up pilot free trade zones in Guangdong, Tianjin, and Fujian.
The move aims to improve China's business environment and push for wider opening to the world.

China's first Free Trade Zone opened in Shanghai in 2013, followed by those in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian a year later.
Since then, another seven have opened around the country.
The zones provide a range of benefits to investors, including lower taxes, streamlined customs clearance procedures, and preferential policies for select regional industries.
Assistant Minister of Commerce Ren Hongbin says that fruitful results have flowed from the Guangdong, Tianjin, and Fujian Free Trade Zones since they were launched more than three years ago.
"The Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian pilot Free Trade Zones have made remarkable achievements in terms of institutional innovation in many areas since their launch, gradually unleashing the dividends of reform and opening-up. They have generally met the expected targets and results," says Ren.
Further reform will be undertaken in the three Free Trade Zones, focusing on encouraging high-quality internationally-focused development, supply-side structural reform, institutional innovation, and risk prevention, that is in line with international standards.
Ren Hongbin says that the three Free Trade Zones have introduced their respective measures to deepen reform in accordance with their own local conditions.
"Guangdong has presented measures covering 18 sectors, ranging from building a legal environment with fairness and integrity, implementing financial opening-up trial programs and promoting the liberalization of the trade in services between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. Those measures can help the Free Trade Zone in Guangdong develop into a pioneering area for building new institutions for an open economy, a gateway hub for high-level opening up, and can act as a template for cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," says Ren.
For the Free Trade Zone in Tianjin, new measures are being introduced to improve the allocation of market resources and to further encourage the development of high tech industry.
In Fujian, the measures being proposed for its Free Trade Zone aim to develop a high quality international business environment, with standardized and transparent government services. The measures are also designed to encourage greater financial cooperation with Taiwan.
China is set to replicate successful practices from the pilot Free Trade Zones in other parts of the country.
These practices include policies that encourage an expansion in international shipping, offering online registration for taxpayers, facilitating inspection and quarantine for empty cargo containers shipped by sea, and efforts to improve the sharing of information among enterprises.