Editor's note: Strengthening Beijing's function as the center for international exchanges is a lofty mission entrusted to Beijing by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. In recent years, all districts in Beijing have earnestly implemented the general plan of Beijing Municipal Party Committee and leveraged their advantages in location and resources to advance various tasks in improving Beijing's role as the center for international exchanges, making remarkable achievements and impressive progress.
To set the stage for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office started this new column themed on "Improve Beijing's Role as the Center for International Exchanges: Districts" to display the progress and achievements in all districts. Building on past successes, we will advance our cause and redouble efforts to promote the development of Beijing as the national capital in the new era.
Changping District has grounded its efforts in the new development stage, applied the new development philosophy, and created new dynamics for development. By focusing on innovation and opening-up, serving the overall diplomacy, promoting international industrial cooperation, improving international service, telling Changping District's stories well, and making the city of Beijing more attractive, it has been planning and acting at a high starting point, working with high standards, and continuously improving Beijing's role as the center for international exchanges.
Enhancing International Influence and Competitiveness with Innovation and Opening-up Policies
Through innovation-driven development and efforts to strengthen the Future Science City, the innovation pattern of "two valleys and one park" is taking shape at an accelerated pace and the Future Science city is playing an increasingly prominent role as a major platform supporting Beijing's position as the international sci-tech innovation center. A total of 23 collaborative innovation platforms have been set up, new R&D institutions such as the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing have been completed and put into use, and the main structure of the first international research hospital in China has been topped out.
Changping District has been committed to open development to effectively stimulate the vitality of its economy. Zhongguancun Life Science Park and its surrounding areas have been included in the Beijing Pilot Free Trade Zone, and China's first decentralized clinical trial (DCT) pilot program has successfully kicked off. A total of 135 international and specialized projects, including Thermo Fisher Scientific, were introduced, doubling the paid-in foreign investment in the previous five years.
Changping contributes to Beijing's endeavor of building an international consumption center by transforming and upgrading traditional commercial zones such as Longyu Center and Longde Square, and launching quality commercial projects such as Leduogang Wanda Plaza.
Thinking in Terms of the General Picture to Serve China's Overall Diplomacy and Beijing's External Exchange with High Quality
Changping District delivered excellent services and support for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics; shot "Gathering in Changping for a Shared Future", a short music video with international students; invited foreign experts and students in the district to attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics; organized closed-loop visits of the Juyongguan Great Wall during the Winter Olympics; and hosted Chinese and foreign press as a stop on their tour of Beijing, a dual Olympic City.
Changping District has actively participated in and held national diplomatic and Beijing foreign affairs events. It has hosted Global Energy Transformation Forum, International Life Sciences Summit, the China-German Forum of Beijing Future Science City Carbon Neutrality and Energy Transition International Forum, the final rounds of the first "China-Russia Youth Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Creativity Competition" in the field of medicine and health and the field of culture, tourism and sports, as well as other international events to build international conference brands. It has held signature programs such as "Cultivating Friendship Woods and Experiencing the New Development of Beijing", which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Beijing Municipal Government, and the "2021 Friendship Day" organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. It has also participated in the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) Conference—the "Expert Conference on AI", the Nobel Vision. Open Innovations 2.0 in Moscow and other events.
Changping District has advanced international cooperation in standardization through innovation. It has promoted the signing of the letter of intent on establishing a joint Russia-China Center for Standardization and Technology Transfer in Healthcare by representatives of the Moscow Centre for Innovative Technology in Healthcare, the Moscow Innovation Cluster Fund, the Beijing Institute for Drug Control, and the Russian Research Institute at Tsinghua University. It has continued with the China-France cooperation on the standardization of business districts whereby the two countries work together to formulate the world's first standard on sustainable development management of business districts. A replicable, scalable and sustainable way of establishing international standards was developed in the process.
Speeding Up Efforts to Gather International Resources and Stimulating International Exchange Through Online Events
Changping District has been carrying out international scientific and technological innovation and industrial cooperation. It has focused on leading industries such as medicine, healthcare, and advanced energy, promoted cooperation with advanced industrial clusters in Israel and European countries, expanded channels for international scientific and technological cooperation, and actively sought for cooperation with foreign embassies and consulates in China, global chambers of commerce and associations, and overseas innovation clusters. It has participated in the 2021 policy promotion for overseas talent, arranged a series of visits for Ambassadors to China to learn about Changping District, in an effort to expand international scientific and technological partnerships.
It has explored new models of sister-city exchanges in the post-Covid era. It has organized eight online international exchange activities, stayed in close cooperation with sister cities in South Korea, Spain, Hungary, and New Zealand on government official exchanges, soccer training, cultural exchanges of youth, traditional Chinese medicine, and governance of extra-large communities.
Changping District has seized the opportunity of the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and given full play to the advantages of the "Two Zones" policy. It has promoted cooperation with European countries in fields such as technology, economy, and trade. From January to November 2021, paid-in foreign investment in Changping District was 244 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 50.94%, and the export volume from January to October reached 13.91 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 74.1%, hitting a new record high for the same period. A number of high-quality foreign-funded enterprises, such as Tada Ltd. from Germany, have been introduced to Changping District.
Improving International Service and Accelerating the Building of International Talent Communities
Changping District has sped up efforts in building infrastructure facilities to increase the comprehensive carrying capacity. It has established a coordination and supervision mechanism for major projects. The buildings of the Beijing Futurecity Academy and the main structure of the Gaobo International Research Hospital Project have been topped out.
The district has increased service capacity by enhancing the supporting facilities. It has entrusted think tanks to carry out research on international practice, improved the international talent introduction and the international talent community policy system, put forward a medium and long-term plan and specific action plans, and sped up the building of industrial supporting areas, comprehensive service areas, and livable leisure areas. It has given full play to the one-stop service platform for international talent and created a gathering space and support platform for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Changping District has improved foreign-related services and created a sound international business and language environment. Application process for the invitation letter for Chinese visa has been streamlined and approval is conducted at an earlier stage to save time. The district has established electronic accounts for enterprises, allowing multiple access to the information submitted. The Entry/Exit Service Center for Foreigners in Changping District has opened in Zhongguancun Life Science Park. The district has carried out a special program to revoke the normative documents inconsistent with the Foreign Investment Law and has drawn up guidelines for foreign investment. It has fully implemented the Beijing Municipal Regulations on the Management of Public Signs in Foreign Languages, established a database of signs in foreign languages in 37 key public places, and made corrections to 1,115 cases where public signs in foreign languages are absent or the translation is not standard. By making full use of the resources of higher education institutions in the district, it has provided English classes for government officials and English training for hotels that would receive foreign guests during the Winter Olympics to improve their language service.
Communicating Changping District to the World Through Diversified Channels
Changping is the first district in Beijing to push bilingual content through the official WeChat account of its foreign affairs office, actively displaying its development achievements and advantageous resources.
It has invited foreigners in Changping District to shoot videos of "Where Does the Waste Go?" and "Foreign Friends Tell the Stories of Changping District" series, which received more than 700,000 views and a number of municipal-level awards.
It has built its international image; reached out to overseas media and Chinese national groups to promote Beijing Future Science Park and tell Changping District's stories well; and built websites in foreign languages to expand promotion.
Creating Featured Cultural Routes for Visits of Foreign Delegations to Make Beijing More Attractive
Changping District has established a resource pool for foreign affairs events that covers industry, culture, tourism, and other resources in the district, and submitted 23 projects for municipal-level foreign affairs visits.
Wenyu River Park · Future Intelligence Valley, the first carbon-neutral theme park in Beijing has opened. A 42-kilometer cycling greenway, 16 new country parks, a number of pocket parks, and 37 small and micro green spaces have been built in the district.
Situated at the intersection of the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, and Xishan Mountain, Changping District has focused on developing the three "cultural belts" to protect and carry forward the cultural heritage. It has created signature programs including the Changping Mid-Autumn Festival Poetry Gala and China Beijing International Magic Carnival, and cultural tourism brands such as the Juyongguan Great Wall. It has also strengthened the coordination among the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming dynasty, Badaling Outlets, and Yue Kong Holiday Plaza, designed themed tour routes, and promoted the history and culture of Changping District to the world to make the city of Beijing more attractive.
