As the only city in China home to both the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Greater Openness in the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the “Two Zones”), Beijing is taking high-standard opening up as a key driver and making every effort to promote the high-quality development of the services sector. In recent years, Beijing has consistently upheld technology-enabled development, open cooperation, and a people-centered approach, giving greater priority to developing the services sector. As its services sector expands, its industrial structure becomes more high-end and efficient, and its drive for sci-tech innovation gains strong momentum, Beijing continues to contribute its strength to the building of a new development paradigm.
The services sector is a core pillar of Beijing’s high-quality economic development. Data show that, in terms of industrial structure, the services sector has long accounted for more than 75% of Beijing’s Gross Regional Product (GRP), a proportion far higher than the national average. In addition, according to Beijing’s economic data, in the first quarter, the city’s services sector generated an added value of RMB 1.1 trillion, up 6.4% year on year at constant prices, 1 percentage point higher than the same period last year, driving Beijing’s GRP up by 5.6 percentage points.
Within the vast industrial landscape, information transmission, software and information technology services, together with the financial sector, have formed a strong “dual engine”. In the first quarter, the two sectors together accounted for about half of the added value of the services sector. This not only reflects Beijing’s advantages in financial regulation and sci-tech innovation as the capital, but also highlights the high-end and efficient nature of its industrial structure. At the same time, Beijing has fully leveraged its advantages as the national capital to actively host international exhibitions and conventions, performances, and sporting events, and accelerate the development of new vibrant urban areas. The reputation of “Beijing Services” now extends into high-quality life services, including culture, tourism, and healthcare.
Sci-tech innovation is a fundamental means of fostering new quality productive forces, and is also the core driver behind Beijing’s services sector development. Beijing has established a mechanism for the integrated development of sci-tech innovation and industrial development, and has formed a “Beijing model”. Under the framework of the Two Zones development, Beijing has further advanced the AI Plus Initiative, accelerated the layout of frontier fields such as 6G and satellite internet, and strengthened the capacity of the sci-tech services sector to support original-innovation activities. As a “testing ground” for reform and opening up, Beijing has introduced a series of pioneering policies in the development of the Two Zones. From taking the lead in launching pilot programs for greater openness in sectors such as value-added telecommunications and healthcare, to issuing the country’s first scenario-based negative list for outbound data flow, and to refining the catalog of recognized international professional qualifications, Beijing has remained at the forefront nationwide in institutional opening up.
In 2025, Beijing saw the establishment of more than 2,400 new foreign-funded enterprises, hitting a record high. Over the past year, in the process of expanding openness in the services sector, Beijing has implemented more than 70 nationally pioneering policies, while over 80 innovation achievements were promoted and replicated across the country, and more than 150 innovative practices were introduced citywide. Beijing has ranked first in all national evaluation of the comprehensive pilot and demonstration zones for greater openness in the service sector, contributing Beijing practices to the building of a high-standard institutional system for opening up the service sector.
Having entered a stage of mature development, Beijing’s services sector has always adhered to integrating a people-centered approach into urban governance. For one thing, Beijing has worked to meet the care needs of the elderly and children, made targeted improvements to community convenience service facilities, and developed personalized services such as internet-based healthcare and mobile diagnosis and treatment, so that the fruits of services sector development can truly benefit people’s lives. For another, drawing on its experience in managing a super-large city and organizing major events, Beijing has vigorously developed energy conservation and environmental protection services, and formed a number of replicable service solutions for social governance.
Moving forward, Beijing will proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, facilitate the release of a work plan for greater openness in the services sector, enable comprehensive bonded zones to pursue distinctive development, and expand the openness of key industrial parks. These efforts will promote institutional opening up, deliver stronger outcomes from systemic reform, and improve the quality of the open economy, injecting new momentum into promoting high-standard opening up and in-depth reform.
