Since the beginning of this year, 227 projects were included in Beijing's pilot project databank for opening up the service sector, driving the total number of projects to 691.

To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the opening-up of the service sector, better meet the needs for epidemic prevention materials and emergency financing, and assist foreign executives in returning to work, Beijing has established an emergency response mechanism for these pilot projects. New projects, including Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, Oaktree Capital, Goldman Sachs Holdings securities joint venture, CITIC-CP Asset Management and Beijing Green Exchanges, have kicked off.

On July 10, Beijing Yongtai Biological Products Co., Ltd., a company dealing with cellular immunotherapy, was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A service sector opening-up pilot project at the municipal level, Yongtai Biological Products is entitled to one-on-one service provided by designated personnel at both municipal and district levels and great government support in land use, fixed-asset investment and commercialization of research outcomes.

So far, 94.4% of the 177 tasks in the new three-year pilot program approved by the State Council have been completed; and 73.3% of the yearly tasks in the three-year action plan on opening-up and reform in eight key areas have been completed.

The Ministry of Commerce has recently issued Best Practice Case Studies in the Comprehensive Trials on Opening Up the Service Sector in Beijing (III), which provides a summary of seven outcomes in such areas as international cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative, protection and application of intellectual property rights, regulatory model optimization and new business model development. This document provides other localities with examples of good practice in opening up the service sector.

The policy guidelines provide better opportunities for the development of the service sector in the capital city. From January to May, the city had 495 foreign-invested companies newly established in the service sector, accounting for 97.8% of all newly-registered foreign-invested companies. Paid-in foreign investment in the service sector registered USD 5.12 billion, accounting for 99.1% of the city's total. Paid-in foreign investment in the Internet and information sector grew at a remarkable rate of 33% year-on-year, an increment amounting to 46.2% of the city's total.