On December 8, the Information Office of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality held a press conference themed “Improving Beijing’s Business Environment with Top-notch and World-class Services”. Li Yanling, Deputy Director-General of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau, said that Beijing is seizing the opportunities of the “two zones” initiative, with 98% of the first 251 tasks approved by the State Council commenced. Since 2020, Beijing’s total paid-in foreign investment has amounted to 56.7 billion dollars, accounting for nearly 9% of the country’s total. Additionally, 1,373 foreign-invested enterprises have been established in Beijing during the first ten months of this year, marking a 13.7% year-on-year increase.
Li explained that, taking into account the local context, the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau has led the drafting of the Regulations of Beijing Municipality on Foreign Investment, which passed the initial review by the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People’s Congress on November 22. The document features four highlights: protecting foreign investment throughout the life cycle; aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules in areas such as national treatment, intellectual property protection, and government procurement; improving Beijing’s government services for foreign investment and establishing regular service mechanisms for major projects and enterprises; and addressing concerns of foreign-invested enterprises.
In terms of policy guidance, in 2022, Beijing issued and implemented the Special Plan for Improvement of Freedom and Facilitation of Investments in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone. With a focus on institutional innovation, the Plan aims to further improve the investment environment in the pilot free trade zone. Specifically, measures were introduced to facilitate cross-border financing for enterprises, improve the qualified foreign limited partner (QDLP) program, and streamline procedures for purchasing foreign exchange with salary by foreign nationals in China.
Since the “two zones” initiative started three years ago, the city has achieved notable progress in institutional innovation, continuous improvement of policy services, and greater attractiveness and scale of investment. Since 2020, Beijing’s total paid-in foreign investment has amounted to 56.7 billion dollars, accounting for close to 9% of the country’s total. Additionally, 1,373 foreign-invested enterprises have been established in Beijing during the first ten months of this year, up 13.7% year-on-year.
Beijing, with two aviation hubs, namely, the Beijing Capital International Airport and the Beijing Daxing International Airport, is partnering with Tianjin and Hebei to improve the business environment in ports. Against this backdrop, the city has benchmarked against high-standard international economic and trade rules and outstanding practices, and promoted reforms in the port business environment, introducing over 330 innovative reform measures over the past six years.
Li said that the Beijing Capital International Airport has obtained qualifications for designated supervision sites for seven product categories, including chilled aquatic products and imported meat, with comprehensive functions such as whole-vehicle import and bonded import. At the Beijing Daxing International Airport, the designated supervision sites for imported edible aquatic animals and imported plant seedlings were put into use in February 2023. Preparations for the designated supervision sites for imported chilled aquatic products and imported fruits are accelerating. As the Beijing Daxing International Airport gains more functions, Beijing’s trade facilitation will be further enhanced.
In addition, Beijing’s “data asset safe deposit box” was selected by the Ministry of Commerce as one of the top ten best practices in the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening Up the Services Sector. By the end of November, this blockchain tool has stored nearly 12 million business documents from around 1,378 companies, as well as various trade archives, including customs documents and logistics documents, which can also be shared.
Beijing also launched the first pilot program for cross-border e-commerce sales of pharmaceutical products, joined by seven leading pharmaceutical and health enterprises such as Alibaba Health and JD Health. A dedicated warehouse for cross-border e-commerce pharmaceuticals, covering over 7,000 square meters, has been established, and pilot enterprises has experienced rapid business growth.
A better environment for international trade serves as a new driver for the opening up of Beijing and the wider Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. From January to October, Beijing’s imports and exports amounted to 2.99 trillion yuan, up 1.3% year-on-year. Specifically, exports increased by 6.6%, surpassing the national average by 6.2 percentage points; and imports increased by 0.3%, exceeding the national average by 0.8 percentage points.
According to Li, the State Council recently approved the Work Plan to Support Beijing in Deepening the Construction of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector. Going forward, Beijing will put the Work Plan into practice to improve the investment and trade environment and create higher-standard “Beijing services”.
