China unveils plan to promote high-level institutional opening-up of Shanghai FTZ

An aerial view of the financial center on the west island of the Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in east China's Shanghai, Sept. 9, 2023.

China's State Council has issued a comprehensive plan to promote the high-level institutional opening-up of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) by aligning it with high-standard international economic and trade rules.

The Shanghai FTZ will take the lead in establishing institutional systems and supervision models that align with high-standard economic and trade rules and move to build itself into a national demonstration zone for institutional opening-up.

A total of 80 measures covering seven areas were outlined in the plan, including initiatives to facilitate trade in goods and services, promote digital trade and enhance intellectual property rights protection,among others.

To accelerate the opening-up of the service trade in the Shanghai FTZ, the plan called for efforts to further open up key sectors such as finance and telecommunications, make cross-border investment and financing easier, support multinationals to set up capital management centers in China, and improve the service quality of the telecommunications sector.

Regarding trade in goods, the plan called for improving the import management of special products, such as medical devices and wine, and simplifying quarantine procedures on a trial basis in the Shanghai FTZ.

High-standard digital trade rules will be implemented in the Shanghai FTZ, according to the plan. The Shanghai FTZ will explore a mechanism for legal, safe and convenient cross-border data flow, accelerate efforts to empower industries with digital technology, and foster new competitiveness in digital trade.

The comprehensive plan also included measures to strengthen the protection of trademarks and patents, promote reforms in government procurement by aligning it with international rules, support international cooperation in the green sector, and improve supervision rules.

China publishes action plan to improve air quality

A bird's-eye view of the parklike setting of an upgraded waste incineration power plant in Chi'an Town, Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 24, 2023.

China's State Council on December 7, 2023, published an action plan to improve air quality amid the country's effort to promote high-quality economic development.

The plan contained a series of measures to achieve bluer skies by 2025, such as propelling green industrial shifts, building a cleaner energy mix, and developing a low-carbon transport system.

According to the plan, by 2025,the density of PM2.5 in Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above should be reduced by 10% compared to the 2020 level; the proportion of days with heavy air pollution in a year should be kept within 1%; and the emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds should be cut down by over 10% compared to 2020.

The plan listed the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its surrounding areas, as well as the Yangtze River Delta region and the Fenwei Plain, as key areas.

China will ban the construction of new steel production facilities, accelerate the removal of outdated facilities in key industries, and foster green industries.

Measures will be taken to develop new and clean energy to ensure that non-fossil energy will account for 20% of the country's total energy consumption by 2025. The production and supply of natural gas will also be increased.

New energy vehicles will account for no less than 80% of new or updated buses, taxis and other urban public transport vehicles in key areas.

Efforts will also be made to strengthen supervision and law enforcement, improve laws, improve environmental policies and economic policies, and expand international cooperation on atmospheric environment management and desertification prevention and control, according to the plan.