Shanghai to Accelerate the Launch of New Rules 【 10th Anniversary of Free Trade Zone · Everyone Talks ② 】, Shen Yuliang: Preparing for the Future
Editor's note: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the construction of China's pilot free trade zone. In the past 10 years, the pilot free trade zones have grown from scratch and from few to many, becoming an important platform for China's high-level opening-up and cooperation with the outside world.
Currently, China is accelerating the construction of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other. It is necessary to deeply participate in the introduction of high-quality elements in the international circulation and make up for the shortcomings and weak links in the industrial chain. How to further leverage the role of free trade pilot zones in trade and investment liberalization, facilitation, and institutional innovation?
Liberation Daily interviewed several well-known domestic experts to provide suggestions and suggestions for the practice of higher level opening-up and higher quality development in the pilot free trade zone.
The interviewee for this issue is Shen Yuliang, Director and Researcher of the International Trade Department at the Institute of World Economics, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Breaking through the institutional bottleneck in major fields in China
Shen Yuliang: In the process of continuously deepening reform and opening up, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone has broken through China's institutional bottlenecks in major fields. Unlike previous fragmented reforms, systematic and holistic reforms have been achieved in serving national strategies, promoting high-quality industrial development, and advancing modernization and rule of law in government governance.
For example, in the field of international investment, free trade zones are promoting a shift from an approval system to a negative list based filing system, making market access more transparent and convenient. Through the pilot of the "separation of certificates and licenses" and the system of in-process and post event supervision by the first level government of Pudong New Area, a comprehensive regulatory framework has been formed, which includes administrative supervision, industry self-discipline, social supervision, and public participation.
In the field of financial system innovation, the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has established a risk prudential management mechanism for financial reform and innovation with the free trade account system as the core. A risk prevention and control system and infrastructure have been established to promote financial openness in areas such as capital account convertibility and financial openness.
In the field of goods supervision system and trade facilitation, attempts have been made to use information technology as an innovative tool for goods trade supervision system, and an executable risk management mechanism for goods has been established. At the same time, it provides experience in reform and opening up for other free trade zones in the country.
In the past 10 years, Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has been at the forefront of reform and opening up, leading the continuous development and expansion of China's market entities, the transformation and upgrading of trade and industrial structure, and the continuous improvement of the quality of foreign investment through systematic integrated innovation.
Shen Yuliang: Institutional innovation is based on industry as the carrier, guided by enterprise demand, to promote high-quality development of industries in the pilot free trade zone. The Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone has a strong industrial foundation, gathering the largest number of regional headquarters of multinational corporations, as well as high-end manufacturing and service industry enterprises in the country. It has certain advantages in multiple fields such as biopharmaceuticals, integrated circuits, and aircraft manufacturing. Through the pilot of full process bonded supervision of integrated circuits, innovation in the classification system for the import and export of research and development products in biopharmaceuticals, measures to facilitate offshore trade in the development of headquarters economy, and the first "one company, two places" integrated supervision model, it supports the entry and operation of domestic large aircraft enterprises, promoting the high-quality development of the pilot free trade zone industry.
Urgently connect with international high standards and promote institutional opening up
Shen Yuliang: China is actively applying to join high standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement. The Shanghai Free Trade Zone must first implement the relevant documents of the State Council, and in areas such as goods trade, service trade, and digital trade, accelerate the integration with international high standards to promote institutional opening up.
Firstly, it is necessary to fully implement the 33 pilot measures launched by the State Council in the "Notice on Several Measures for Pilot Connection with International High Standards and Promoting Institutional Opening up in Conditional Free Trade Pilot Zones and Free Trade Ports". The industrial advantages and advantages of high-quality enterprise clusters in the Shanghai Free Trade Pilot Zone should be fully utilized. In the import of remanufactured products, it has been recognized that the qualifications of overseas qualified assessment institutions are equivalent to those of domestic institutions. In addition to specific new financial services, foreign-funded financial institutions in the pilot areas are allowed to provide similar services, and foreign professionals are encouraged to provide professional services to enterprises and residents in the pilot areas in accordance with the law. Mass market software does not transfer or obtain software source code as trade conditions, allowing all transfers related to foreign investment that are truly compliant and can be freely remitted. Export without delay and complete pilot tasks with high quality in these areas.
Secondly, closely combining the needs of industries and enterprises, we will strive to pilot more high rule clauses in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. In the field of goods trade, the focus is on institutional opening measures in supply chain trade, and high-quality domestic rules are formed in market access areas such as temporary entry, global maintenance, and remanufacturing. In the field of service trade, we will promote institutional opening pilot projects with cross-border delivery as the focus of service trade. In the field of digital trade, promote the facilitation of commerce such as electronic payments, electronic invoices, paperless trade, and single window international trade, and promote the formation of high-level cross-border data flow rules on the basis of the Data Security Law, Cybersecurity Law, Personal Information Protection Law, and other laws.
Finally, the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone should continuously introduce domestic rules that are conducive to the development of pioneer enterprises based on the needs of industries and enterprises, in preparation for China's future leadership and participation in new international economic and trade rules. The Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone already has a leading position in cutting-edge fields such as biopharmaceuticals, electronic payments, and autonomous driving systems. These fields are in the exploratory stage of both international standards and international economic and trade rules. This requires accelerating the formation of domestic rules to ensure the healthy development of cutting-edge industries and provide institutional guarantees for China's full participation in international economic and trade rules in the 21st century.
