"Experimental fields" are also "high-yield fields": Shanghai Free Trade Zone receives over 10000 US dollars in foreign investment every minute
The busy Pudong International Airport recently welcomed a special entry item - a "remanufactured" engine. This is the first "pilot import of remanufactured products in key industries" in China. After completing customs declaration, it will be transported to Volvo Construction Equipment Co., Ltd. located in the Jinqiao area of Shanghai Free Trade Zone.
In September 2013, China's first pilot free trade zone, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, was established. In the past decade of operation, stories like Volvo Construction Equipment's first order have been constantly unfolding. As an experimental field for reform and opening up, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone adheres to the principle of "building a highland for institutional innovation rather than a depression for preferential policies" and "planting nurseries rather than bonsai". Data shows that nearly half of the 302 innovative achievements in the free trade zone system replicated and promoted at the national level originate from Shanghai's pioneering or synchronous pilot projects.
Overlooking the Zhangjiang area of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe
The "remanufacturing" characterized by circular economy is the latest case of institutional innovation. "Compared to new products, remanufactured products can save 60% energy consumption, achieve a material reuse ratio of up to 70%, and reduce emissions by 80%." Chen Chaoping, Vice President of Volvo Construction Equipment Co., Ltd., said that the pilot project initiated by the free trade zone is expected to form a demonstration effect in China.
The free trade zone is both an experimental field and a high-yield field. Establishing the first foreign-funded hospital, the first foreign-funded public fund company, and the first foreign-funded automobile manufacturing enterprise in China... Over the past decade, Shanghai Free Trade Zone has implemented a number of national first foreign-funded projects in dozens of open fields such as manufacturing and finance.
According to data released by the Shanghai Free Trade Zone Management Committee on the 15th, from its listing to the end of 2022, the total number of newly established enterprises in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was 84000, which is 2.35 times that of the same region in the previous 20 years. In the past decade, over 14000 new foreign investment projects have been established in the free trade zone, with a total of 58.6 billion US dollars in foreign investment received, equivalent to over 10000 US dollars in foreign investment received every minute, casting a "vote of confidence" for the Chinese economy through practical actions.
Zhu Zhisong, Director of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone Management Committee, said that the Shanghai Free Trade Zone adheres to the combination of expanding opening up and deepening reform, combining cultivation functions with policy innovation, focusing on key areas and key links to boldly experiment, explore new paths, and make independent changes. "This not only serves as a trial system for the country, but also effectively promotes Shanghai's high-quality development.".
Standing at the new starting point of the 10th anniversary, Shanghai will continue to take institutional innovation as the core, replicability and promotability as the fundamental requirements, and "improvement" as the keyword to carry out greater level of stress testing at a deeper level, focusing on improving the ability to connect international rules, allocate global factor resources, lead high-end industries, and explore the differentiation of new areas near the port.
