China's FTZs deepen reforms to align with international standards

An aerial view of the Yangpu Bonded Port Area in the Yangpu Economic Development Zone, south China's Hainan Province, June 27, 2023. [Photo by Luo Yunfei/China News Service]

China plans to deepen reforms in some eligible free trade zones (FTZs) and Hainan Free Trade Port to align with high-standard international economic and trade rules amid efforts to boost institutional opening-up, said a circular released by the State Council on June 29, 2023.

The eligible FTZs are located in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian and Beijing.

The pilot regions will be encouraged to export remanufacturing goods in primary industries to promote innovation in goods trade, said the circular. It added that aircraft, ships, and relevant parts and components transported into the pilot areas after undergoing temporary repair from overseas are exempt from customs duties.

Efforts will be made to facilitate service trade, like allowing foreign financial institutions in the pilot areas to provide similar services as their Chinese counterparts.

The circular noted facilitating the temporary entry of business personnel. For experts who get jobs transferred within foreign-invested enterprises in the pilot areas, their spouses and other family members could enjoy a similar entry and temporary stay period as the experts.

The healthy development of digital trade will be boosted, according to the circular.

Business environments will be optimized through reforms in government procurement, intellectual property rights, competition policy and environmental protection.

China set up its first FTZ in Shanghai in 2013, and the number of its FTZs has increased to 21.

China approves 24 innovative drugs in first half of 2023

A view of the booth of Tongrentang, a time-honored traditional Chinese medicine pharmaceutical company, at an exhibition during the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing, May 28, 2023.

China approved the market launch of 24 innovative drugs in the first half of 2023, as the country implements a reform of the review and approval mechanisms for medical products, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) said on July 5, 2023.

Meanwhile, 28 innovative medical equipment products were approved for market launch, according to the NMPA.

The ongoing reform focuses on encouraging innovation, Jiao Hong, head of the administration, said at a press conference, adding that the NMPA is allocating more resources to the review of innovative drugs, pediatric drugs and rare-disease drugs with high clinical urgency and clear efficacy.

Huang Guo, deputy head of the NMPA, said the administration had been facilitating the market launch of rare-disease drugs by introducing supportive policies to expedite and prioritize the review and approval procedures of such drugs and strengthen technical guidance on these drugs' research and development.

A total of 68 new rare-disease drugs, including those imported and domestically developed, have been approved to enter the Chinese market since 2018, according to the NMPA.