Guiding high-quality foreign investment projects toward the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA), building a high-level international industrial cooperation park, launching a "green channel" service for admitting foreigners into Beijing to resume work and production… These are part of the 15 measures recently adopted by the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the Beijing Municipal People's Government to support BDA internationalization. This is the first time Beijing Foreign Affairs Office has brought in supporting initiatives for a science and industry park. In order to enhance internationalization, the BDA has also developed 11 supporting initiatives.
In terms of industrial development, the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office will support the BDA in building a high-level international exchange and cooperation platform and guide high-quality foreign investment projects toward the area. The Office will incorporate the international industrial cooperation of the BDA into the framework of the municipality's work with international sister cities to help the BDA establish relations of friendly cooperation with relevant foreign cities (development areas). The Office will introduce overseas enterprises, capital, technology, talents and other resources and factors in line with the functions of the BDA to make the area an international industrial cooperation area with a high degree of openness, an excellent industrial structure and strong R&D capabilities. The Office will also support the BDA in developing a foreign-funded headquarters economy, bring more of the world's top 500 companies, regional headquarters of multinational companies, R&D centers, leading industry enterprises and major projects to the BDA, and actively introduce global high-end productive service enterprises.
A Visit to the Schneider Electric Digital Demonstration Park
According to BDA supporting policies, the area will expand overseas investment networks, continue to build offices in France and Germany, and accelerate the establishment of offices in other countries and territories. It will explore setting up offshore technology incubation bases in countries and territories alongside the Belt and Road. It will promote the internationalization of the Sino-French Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park and China-Japan Youth Startup Park. It will also support the Digital R&D Innovation Center, establish 5G, big data, artificial intelligence and information security innovation labs, and drive the development of upstream and downstream industrial chains. For the qualified regional headquarters that were newly registered or moved to the BDA after January 1, 2021, the area will give them incentives for doing so and provide them with guaranteed space and support for overseas talents, in order to develop the foreign-funded headquarters economy.
The BDA has a concentration of foreign-funded enterprises and high-level foreign talents. The Beijing Foreign Affairs Office will help the BDA welcome foreign employees back to Beijing, and open a "green channel" for their return to resume work. It will improve immigration services, refine the international language environment, promote the full coverage of foreign language signs in major public facilities in the BDA, and create a "zero error BDA" in terms of foreign language signs.
A Visit to the BDA International Talent Service Center
The BDA will make efforts to build an "overseas-like" financial investment environment, improve international public services, introduce more overseas high-end talents, and improve the mechanisms for introducing and serving such talents. It will work to attract more famous overseas market-oriented financial institutions and overseas high-quality capital, and experiment with the Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP) and Qualified Foreign Limited Partner (QFLP) programs. It will provide full-chain and one-stop comprehensive service for talents, and step up to build an immigration service center and an agency to handle foreigners' work permits in China. It will also improve the supply of international education and speed up the Sino-Finnish cooperative school project of the International Department of the BDA School of the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China.
In order to improve the BDA's capacity in foreign affairs, the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office will also help bring in more international organizations, plan featured foreign affairs events, promote the BDA among foreign diplomats in China, carry out international information exchanges and sharing, and strengthen preventive consular protection.
(Written by Fan Junsheng)
