How can Lingang New Area do a good job as a "leading goose"?, Shouldering a major mission, standing at the "crossroads" of cross-border | foreign-funded enterprises | Lingang

On August 20th, the Lingang New Area of China's Pilot Free Trade Zone celebrated its fourth anniversary of unveiling.

As of now, a total of 102 breakthrough innovation cases have been formed, of which 48 are national firsts; The cutting-edge technology industry has signed nearly 500 projects with a total investment of over 600 billion yuan; In the first half of this year, the gross industrial output value above designated size increased by 52.6% year on year, and the fixed assets investment of the whole society increased by 57.2% year on year.

The data reflects the high-speed growth trend of the Lingang New Area, and standing at the time node of the ten-year construction of the free trade zone, observing this open land at the forefront of the country undoubtedly requires a more complex and in-depth perspective. Compared with other pilot free trade zones, the Lingang New Area is not simply expanding its area, but has a higher positioning and richer strategic tasks, which is a further upgrade of important strategic measures to promote reform and opening up.

Looking back at the past year, amidst the complex and ever-changing internal and external environment and the accelerated restructuring of the global system, the Lingang New Area has actively carried out high-level new explorations in opening up to the outside world, continuously making new breakthroughs and accumulating new experiences. If the pilot free trade zone is playing the role of "leading geese", then the Lingang New Area is striving to become the "leading geese" among the "leading geese", paving a new path for Shanghai and the country.

Bravely venture into "uninhabited areas" and take a path that no one has walked before

In June this year, the State Council issued a document supporting the pilot import of remanufactured products from key industries in some free trade zones and free trade ports. Carrying out the import of remanufactured products not only reduces enterprise costs and enriches consumer choices, but also has profound significance in promoting better domestic integration with international norms.

However, some foreign garbage, old products, etc. may also pass the test under the guise of remanufactured products. The Lingang New Area has previously secured a pilot opportunity for an international leading remanufacturing enterprise. After more than a year of single enterprise pilot, it has effectively explored the management mode of imported remanufacturing products for the country and accumulated valuable regulatory experience, which is why this national "conditional zone pilot" has emerged.

After the State Council issued a document, several pilot areas that were "named" came to consult the Lingang New Area Management Committee. A person in charge of the Qianhai Management Bureau said, "This time, the Lingang New Area has once again taken the lead in the country."

Some argue that the institutional innovation in the Lingang New Area has entered a "deep water zone" and "uninhabited zone". In the past year, the Lingang New Area has leveraged key points of reform one by one through three steps: case pilot, innovative supervision, and regulatory solidification, and has produced multiple institutional innovation achievements that have led the country.

Recently, the first batch of financial leasing SPV integrated circuit equipment leasing business contracts were signed and implemented nationwide. One of the signing parties, Geke Micro Co., Ltd., may have a significant breakthrough in core components by the end of this year, with an estimated need of 1-2 billion US dollars to purchase high-end equipment. Chairman Zhao Lixin said that even if this money is raised through stock market financing, the pressure is too great. The implementation of financial leasing pilot projects has solved the urgent needs of integrated circuit enterprises.

The SPV business in China's financial leasing industry is mainly concentrated in the fields of aircraft, ships, marine engineering, etc. Due to the lack of current relevant regulations, the Lingang New Area boldly adopts the "sandbox supervision" model, conducts risk assessments in the case pilot process, and strengthens communication with regulatory authorities. After the timing is ripe, it is expected that integrated circuit financial leasing will be included in the regulatory scope, thereby empowering integrated circuit enterprises nationwide.

The Lingang New Area has also released implementation rules based on the legislative achievements of Pudong New Area regulations, taking the lead in solidifying and implementing the "driverless road test" system. It has also issued the first batch of driverless intelligent connected vehicle road test licenses based on legislative foundations to 15 vehicles of four enterprises, including Tucson Future and Saike Intelligence.

Dai Juan, Deputy General Manager of Saike Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., stated that achieving "true unmanned" is the ultimate goal of the development of intelligent connected vehicles. "In the Lingang New Area, with regulatory guarantees, we feel that we are one step closer to the ultimate goal."

With the accelerated evolution of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, more and more emerging fields will face the problem of regulatory gaps, and autonomous driving is one of them. For the Lingang New Area, after the release of the implementation rules for "driver free road testing", it has entered a new "unmanned area", and there is still a series of institutional innovation work to be promoted and refined. But the mission of the Lingang New Area is to take a path that has not been taken by predecessors, create a stable environment and expectations for various innovative entities, explore new paths, accumulate experience, and provide models for the country.

High level institutional openness promotes high-quality development

These leading and iconic institutional innovation achievements also fully reflect the powerful promoting effect of high-level institutional openness on high-quality development. "Opening up has always been the most important mission of Lingang, and reform has always been the biggest economic dividend of Lingang." This sentence repeatedly emphasized by Lingang New Area represents a clear understanding - only by firmly deepening reform and determined to expand opening up can we continuously enrich and expand the practical content of special economic functions, and continuously improve the level and level of an open economy.

At the beginning of the year, the National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base of Shanghai Lingang Industrial Zone passed the annual assessment of the Ministry of Commerce. Data shows that about half of the new energy vehicles exported by China last year were loaded onto the sea from the Nangang Port under the jurisdiction of the base. This is largely due to the "direct release" model pioneered by the Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone, where enterprises can directly pick up and ship goods that do not involve certification or inspection. Major automotive companies pursuing fast entry and exit of components have launched projects such as bonded distribution centers, distribution platforms, and international automotive sales service centers.

With the expansion of the "direct release" policy to apply to ports in Nangang, export vehicles can automatically recognize information passing through the card through the driver's "ground running" method, achieving "seamless" supervision and fast customs clearance. Tesla, SAIC MG and other new energy vehicles, as well as engineering machinery such as Sany Heavy Industry, have also begun to achieve large-scale exports in Nangang. More free and convenient trade rules for goods have also driven many key enterprises in the new energy vehicle and high-end equipment manufacturing industries to gather in the Lingang New Area.

In the face of emerging fields, the Lingang New Area has also timely and prudently carried out effective exploration of institutional innovation, in order to leverage larger and deeper development momentum to quickly land.

In recent years, digital trade rules have flourished with the global digital economy, but due to considerations such as national security and information privacy, major economies around the world have implemented varying degrees of regulation on data flows. Exploring compliant cross-border data transmission can help Chinese companies "go global" and participate in international competition; It can also help foreign-funded enterprises dispel concerns, steadily promote business in China, and expand investment in China, which is a concern for all parties.

As a leading area for the construction of an "international data port" in Shanghai, the Lingang New Area has created a functional platform that integrates "pre filing and registration, in-process transmission and certification, and post supervision and spot checks". It uses emerging technologies such as blockchain and regulatory sandbox to explore the orderly cross-border flow of data. Currently, it has completed the first national cross-border data flow security assessment for foreign-funded automobile enterprises.

This is certainly just the first step in exploring a new model for cross-border data management, but it is also enough to make foreign enterprises feel the determination of the Lingang New Area to connect with high standard international rules and promote institutional openness. This year, this foreign car company has invested in the construction of a large factory in the Lingang New Area, which covers the global market. In 2022, the actual foreign investment in the Lingang New Area increased from 520 million US dollars in 2020 to 2.04 billion US dollars, and its proportion in Shanghai increased from 2.5% to 9.0%.

Standing at the "crossroads" to lead the formulation of international rules

Benchmarking with international benchmarks is a fundamental prerequisite for the Lingang New Area to represent Shanghai and the country in participating in international cooperation and competition. In order to further enhance the international market influence and competitiveness, and to be a pioneer in national reform and opening up and innovative development, the Lingang New Area must achieve a deeper benchmark.

At the end of last year, Lingang New Area signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Dubai Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone. The Dubai Free Trade Zone has implemented the "World Logistics Passport" program in multiple countries, established new trade routes, and promoted the smooth flow of global trade under the "Dubai rules". When introducing the "World Logistics Passport" program, the Dubai representative said, "We want to change the rules of the game."

This left a deep impression on the representatives of the Lingang New Area present - not only to "adapt" and "connect" to the rules, but also to "change" and even "formulate" the rules. This is the thinking of "advanced players" in the global chess game, reflecting the confidence of this free trade park with the highest degree of openness, influence, and competitiveness to the outside world.

A deeper benchmark refers to the benchmark against this advanced thinking mode. And the exploration of the new Lingang area has already begun.

In July this year, the Lingang New Area held the first Dishui Lake High Energy Shipping Service Industry Innovation Conference, inviting many industry heavyweight figures from the UK, Norway, Japan, and France to discuss together. Lin Yisong, Director of the Shipping Department of the Lingang New Area Management Committee, said, "We hope to explore feasible paths for the green and low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry through this conference." The underlying message is that the Lingang New Area hopes to take this opportunity to lead the formulation of international rules.

The effect of the conference has also met expectations. The heads of international organizations such as the Baltic International Chamber of Shipping and the London Association of Maritime Arbitrators believe that the forward-looking layout of methanol and other new shipping energy in the Lingang New Area can help enhance the discourse power of green development.

During the speech, Deputy Director of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Sig, called on the global shipping industry to be "at a critical crossroads" facing challenges of decarbonization and digitization, and the entire industry urgently needs to transform. In fact, in the complex and ever-changing environment, not only the shipping industry, but also various industries are standing at a "crossroads" in the international rule operation mode, which may undergo fierce evolution at any time. Only by understanding its internal logic can we adapt faster and better. Furthermore, only by winning the initiative to define rules can we firmly stand at the forefront and pioneer in an open international environment.

At the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee held on August 18th, it was proposed to "vigorously implement the strategy of upgrading the pilot free trade zone and gather the strength of the whole city to develop the new Lingang area.". This means that the new Lingang area will be endowed with stronger development momentum, while also shouldering greater missions. As the "leading goose", Lingang New Area will continue to firmly plan and promote greater efforts in independent reform, carry out higher level exploration of opening up to the outside world, accelerate the construction of a special economic function zone with cutting-edge industrial agglomeration development, improved urban functional supporting facilities, and people living and working in peace and contentment.