In Four Years, Chongqing FTZ Achieves Remarkable Results in Exploration, Development

Chongqing- Over the past four years, the China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has actively carried out pioneering and differentiated reforms and explorations.

This provides an important platform for Chongqing to build itself into a pioneer of opening-up in inland China, aiming to promote the city's high-quality development and create a high-quality life.

International logistics distribution

Focusing on developing characteristics and key industries in Chongqing, Chongqing Customs has launched four batches of 76 customs supervision innovation measures in the pilot FTZ. Among them, two innovative systems were replicated and promoted nationwide by the State Council as the pilot FTZ reform experience, said Liu Haoyu, deputy commissioner of Chongqing Customs, at the press conference held on March 31.

“The State Council has a strategic positioning for the pilot FTZ to be an important hub for connecting the Belt and Road and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, as well as an important fulcrum for the Western Development Strategy," said Liu. “We are committed to making efforts to smooth logistics channels through innovating the customs supervision model.”

Liu added, innovating the intelligent supervision of mail consolidation via China Railway Express to Europe, Chongqing Customs takes the lead in setting up a railway mail processing center at Chongqing railway port, realizing the electronic monitoring of the entire logistics of railway postal departure, transit, and outbound, and improving the efficiency of international mail consolidation transit.

“Specifically, the China Railway Express to Europe has normally been operating, opening up a new postal route that spans China and connects Europe and Asia,” said Liu. "In 2020, China Railway Express to Europe transported more than 17 million national mail pieces, accounting for more than 65% of the country."

Chongqing has fully established a distribution center for imported vehicles, cross-border e-commerce, fast-moving consumer goods, and electronic materials and parts and has successfully introduced the Bosch (China) logistics distribution center project of the world's top 500.

In particular, the Jiangjin-ASEAN Cold Chain Commodity Distribution Center has opened 12 lines of the Southeast Asia Cold Chain Express as normal. In 2020, Chongqing imported complete vehicles, cross-border e-commerce, and drugs, and the distribution center allocated about 5,050 units, 28.21 million pieces, reaching 850 million yuan (about 139 million USD).

The scale effect of the international logistics distribution center is beginning to show, Liu emphasized.

Business environment

Eighty-two imported Porsches were delivered to the Xiyong Comprehensive Bonded Zone in the pilot FTZ on September 24, 2020. This is the first batch of imported vehicles since the Xiyong Comprehensive Bonded Zone began operations of the Vehicle Bonded Warehouse.

Compared with the former "taxation on arrival" policy for complete vehicle imports, bonded warehousing can further reduce corporate tax funds pressure.

"Imported vehicles can be stored in a bonded warehouse, where import duties, value-added and consumption taxes needn’t be paid until the products enter the domestic market," said a representative of the Xiyong Comprehensive Bonded Zone.

In addition to bonded storage, the Xiyong Comprehensive Bonded Zone has also launched the innovative measure of bonded complete vehicles subject to one integrated inspection and transportation process, allowing batches of such vehicles to enter and exit the zone without undue delay.

Focusing on promoting trade facilitation, the Xiyong Area of ​​the pilot FTZ has achieved a national first by introducing the upgraded exemption supervision model, which provides convenience for enterprises in the processing trade to develop new products.

Chongqing is the first to implement the rebate policy for retained value-added tax credits, which has eased the capital flow pressure for related enterprises. The city has also taken the lead by launching online tax reduction and exemption services through a single window for international trade, thus greatly improving work efficiency.

"Over the past four years since it's unveiled, the pilot FTZ has actively performed a transformation of government functions, by streamlining administration, delegating power, improving regulation, and upgrading services, as well as promoting investment and trade facilitation in Chongqing to optimize the overall business environment," said  Zhang Zhikui, director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. 

Statistics showed that there has been a delegation of 41 municipal management powers to each district and the issuance of 523 central and 14 local enterprise-related business licenses subject to full coverage list management.

Meanwhile, each area of ​​the pilot FTZ has comprehensively improved the level of public services, such as being the first nationwide to launch the full-process electronic withdrawal system and to promote internet-based government services.

Specifically, the processing time limit for export business has been shortened to 5.3 working days, lower than the national average of ten, while processing business start-ups have been reduced to less than three working days.

Manufacturing plus Internet

As the business environment has been optimized in the pilot FTZ, economic development in the Jiulongpo section of Chongqing has shown strong growth resilience and potential.

This year, there were 3323 newly registered enterprises (including branches) in the Jiulongpo sector, ranking second in Chongqing and accounting for about 23.1% of the pilot FTZ. Among these are 23 foreign-funded enterprises (including branches), ranking first in the municipality and accounting for 35.9% of the total. One hundred forty-four new projects were introduced with a total contractual agreement worth 12.7 billion yuan.

Target has been taken at the sore points of information islands and lack of traditional manufacturing resources, as the Jiulongpo sector promotes the "Manufacturing + Information Industry Internet platform". Creativity has formed a link between the manufacturing industry and the internet. An industrial internet platform economy has been established to promote industrial enterprises' side reform and revitalize traditional industries.

This model relies principally on Humiwang to build an industrial Internet platform and actively cooperate with counterparts nationwide. They are exporting a new model of ‘Manufacturing + Information-based Industrial Internet Platforms’ to help industries across the country transform and upgrade.

At present, the operations of 7 Humi Industrial Internet Industrial Parks have begun to take shape. Additionally, the Humi Industrial Internet Service Platform has brought together more than 216,345 registered users and 76,079 corporate service providers worldwide. Over 69,280 orders have been issued, with the number of platform orders over 1.63 billion yuan.

So far, Humiwang has established industrial Internet parks in Tianjin, Beihai, and other cities to actively deploy offline application scenarios as they continue to deepen resources and broaden industrial categories.