CCTV:
Jiangxi established an inland open economy pilot zone in 2020. What initiatives have been undertaken in more than four years, and what are the future plans for further opening up? Thank you.
Ye Jianchun:
Thank you for your question, and I will answer it. Opening up inland areas is a widely discussed and challenging issue that we strive to address. The central government has placed significant importance on the issue. In my view, the designation of Jiangxi as one of the pilot zones for opening up inland areas is an important task entrusted to Jiangxi by the central government. The pilot zone is a major platform for Jiangxi to enhance domestic and international openness and realize further development. For more than four years, we have advanced the construction of the pilot zone with high standards and quality, fostering all-round, two-way opening up by building connections with other parts of the country and the world. Let me highlight three key areas of progress.
First, trade and investment have become more convenient. We pioneered a new customs clearance model that bridges different provinces and customs areas and connects land ports with seaports, reducing logistics time to coastal ports from an average of 70 hours to less than 30 hours. Jiangxi's export clearance efficiency now ranks fifth nationwide.
Second, the business environment has seen continuous optimization. We have thoroughly implemented a campaign to improve the business environment by aligning with established standards, with 99% of public biddings fully conducted online. We have enabled online company registration within one day and eliminated unnecessary regulatory efforts for reliable companies.
Third, the capacity of platforms has been significantly enhanced. We have deepened reform and innovation in development areas, reducing 40.6% of management institutions and increasing the added industrial value per mu (one mu equals 666.67 square meters) by 7.5%. We have upgraded the capacities of comprehensive bonded zones in Ganzhou and Shangrao, as well as cross-border e-commerce pilot zones in Nanchang and Ganzhou. In 2023, Jiangxi's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports totaled 46.35 billion yuan, ranking sixth nationwide.
Jiangxi's development is characterized by openness. Moving forward, we will improve the quality and efficiency of the inland open economy pilot zone construction, expedite the building of a pioneer for the reform and opening-up of inland areas, and inject vitality into Jiangxi's development in the new era through opening-up.
On the one hand, we will promote high-quality "bringing in" and high-level "going global" initiatives. For high-quality "bringing in," we will continue targeted investment attraction in key industries by setting specific goals and lists. We will focus on the main targets of industries and leading enterprises and introduce more upstream and downstream enterprises in a targeted manner. For high-level "going global," Jiangxi's exports last year of the "new three" products — solar batteries, electric passenger vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries — increased by a whopping 73.5%, accounting for 4.3% of the nation's total. We will steadily expand our export share of the "new three" products and encourage more Jiangxi-based enterprises and products to go global.
On the other hand, we will quickly foster a market-oriented, law-based, and world-class business environment. We are committed to the development of such a business environment as a hallmark of Jiangxi as it pursues development. Specifically, we will address the problem of newly appointed officials neglecting unresolved problems and protect the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and entrepreneurs, with private entrepreneurs making investment and starting and expanding businesses without hassle. In 2023, the number of newly registered businesses in Jiangxi reached 1.237 million, bringing the total to 4.828 million by the end of the year. These figures clearly indicate that business entities recognize Jiangxi's business environment and have confidence in its development environment. Going forward, we will intensify efforts to optimize the environment and promote high-level "going global" initiatives, advancing the development of Jiangxi's inland open economy pilot zone. Thank you.
