The State Council recently issued the Opinions on Accelerating the Implementation of the Free Trade Zone Strategy (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), which puts forward the overall requirements for my country to accelerate the implementation of the free trade zone strategy and proposes to further optimize the free trade zone construction layout and accelerate the construction of high-level Free trade zone, and make specific arrangements for improving the security system, improving the support mechanism, and strengthening the organization and implementation.
The Opinions pointed out that accelerating the implementation of the free trade zone strategy is an important part of China’s new round of opening up. It is necessary to persist in making the market play a decisive role in the allocation of resources and give better play to the role of the government, and insist on overall consideration and comprehensive use of international and domestic issues. Market and two resources, adhere to the close integration of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” and the national foreign strategy, persist in grasping the initiative of opening up and safeguarding national security, and gradually build a high-standard free trade based on the periphery, radiating the “Belt and Road” and facing the world District network.
The Opinions emphasize that to accelerate the implementation of the free trade zone strategy, we must adhere to the basic principles of expanding opening up, deepening reforms, full participation, key breakthroughs, mutual benefit and win-win, common development, scientific assessment, and risk prevention and control. The Opinions propose that to accelerate the construction of a high-level free trade zone, it is necessary to increase the level of opening up of trade in goods, expand the opening up of the service industry, relax investment access, advance rule negotiations, improve the level of trade facilitation, promote regulatory cooperation, and promote the facilitation of movement of natural persons , Strengthen economic and technical cooperation.
The Opinions require that through deepening the pilot free trade zone, improving foreign investment laws and regulations, perfecting the basic system of interim and ex-post supervision, doing a good job in trade remedy, studying the establishment of trade adjustment assistance mechanisms and other measures, and improving and accelerating the implementation of free trade zones Strategic security system. The Opinions also require measures such as improving the third-party evaluation system for free trade zone negotiations, strengthening the implementation of free trade agreements that have taken effect, strengthening talent support for the construction of free trade zones, and improving the support mechanism for the implementation of free trade zone strategies.
