Chen Wenjun:
This is the final question.
Hong Kong's Bauhinia Magazine:
So far, 21 pilot free trade zones (FTZs) have been established in China. What roles can these pilot FTZs play in fostering a new development paradigm? What are the specific considerations? What are the new measures for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port? Thank you.
Wang Wentao:
Thank you for your question. I'll answer this one. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that we need to link up the construction of a new development pattern with the implementation of the strategy for coordinated regional development and the construction of pilot free trade zones to create a new highland of reforms and opening-up. As you mentioned, China has set up 21 pilot FTZs, which has formed a nationwide pattern of reform, opening-up and innovation. A total of 260 achievements of institutional innovations have been replicated and applied across the country, effectively giving full play to their role as a pilot ground for deepening all-round reform and expanding opening up on all fronts. The most important role played by pilot FTZs is the pilot ground for deepening reform and opening-up. It is fair to say that they will play an increasingly larger role in, and make great contributions to, shaping a new development pattern.
Regarding specific considerations for the next step, we will mainly work on four aspects, namely, connecting markets, coordinating rules, integrating industries, and mutually promoting innovation. I'd like to provide more details regarding these.
We will boost connectivity between markets with profound reform measures. We will continue to grant greater autonomy in reform to pilot free trade zones, put forward more preliminary measures of profound reform, and break down barriers and solve difficulties existing in connecting domestic and global markets. We will further optimize our business environment, which is based on market principles, governed by law, and meets international standards, to energize market entities. In the meantime, we will work to foster more innovative measures and promote them across the country as long as they are proven to be effective.
We will promote the connectivity of rules with high-quality opening-up measures. Whilst promoting opening-up based on the flow of production factors, we also need to foster opening up based on related institutions. Thus, we can promote the connectivity of rules via free trade zones. This means that we will work to elevate our pilot free trade zone to high-level international economic and trade standards. By doing so, we will draw up and publish negative lists for cross-border service trade for our pilot free trade zones and further promote institutional opening-up such as those concerning rules, regulations, management, and standards. Just as I've mentioned, opening up must be based not only on the flow of production factors but also on institutions. By further improving the rules, regulations, and management standards of free trade zones, we will foster institutional opening up, and achieve a higher level of opening-up.
We will promote the integrated development of industries by opening up the industrial chain. There are 21 pilot free trade zones across China, each with its resource advantages and industrial features. We encourage pilot free trade zones to develop their unique features of reform and opening-up based on their strategic position and resource advantages. That includes developing businesses that leverage local strengths with a focus on high-quality market entities so that they can act as leaders in domestic industrial transformation, improve the quality of the industrial and supply chain, and achieve high-quality development.
We will foster innovation by pooling high-end factors of production. We will support pilot free trade zones by pooling more resources from China and abroad, especially talent, capital, technology, and data. We will strengthen international communication and cooperation, focus on basic research, and step up original innovation. By doing so, we will work to make pilot free trade zones the cradle of sci-tech innovation, and foster driving forces for high-quality and innovative development.
I would also like to elaborate on the Hainan free trade port as it has drawn wide attention. The building of the Hainan free trade port has acted as a model and a flagship of China's reform and opening-up efforts. It also represents a significant and novel approach in this field. Since the release of the master plan for the Hainan free trade port last year, we have seen some promising results. According to statistics from Hainan province, its regional GDP in 2020 grew by 3.5% and the import and export of goods increased by 3%, both higher than the national average. Policies also started to pay off since the master plan was released. A total of 310,000 new market entities were established in 2020, up 30.9%. Meanwhile, 1,005 new foreign companies opened businesses in Hainan, up 197.3% year-on-year. The province attracted some 122,000 talents overall, up 177% year-on-year. Since implementing the offshore duty-free policy, the average daily sales of offshore duty-free shops in Hainan exceeded 120 million yuan by the end of 2020, up more than 200% year-on-year. The future of the Hainan free trade port is very promising.
Next, we will fully grasp and put into practice General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on building the Hainan free trade port, stay focused on China's overall development and major strategies, and spare no effort to effectively implement all tasks and polices stipulated in the master plan in a bid to continuously promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and secure greater progress in building the Hainan free trade port. Thank you.
Chen Wenjun:
Thank you to all the speakers and friends from the media. Today's press conference is hereby concluded. Thank you.
Translated and edited by Yang Xi, Xu Xiaoxuan, Wang Qian, Zhang Liying, Zhang Rui, Huang Shan, Lin Liyao, Zhang Junmian, Cui Can, Liu Qiang, Wang Yiming, Fan Junmei, Liu Jianing, Guo Yiming, Xiang Bin, Duan Yaying, Li Huiru, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, Geoffrey Murray, and Tom Arnstein. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.
