Chongqing- An enterprise listed on the Growth Board of Chongqing Stock Transfer Center welcomed two foreign natural investors, serving as the first time a foreign person has invested in listed enterprises in China's regional equity market.

"This project will optimize investors' structure in the regional equity market," said Xu Xincheng, deputy director of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce. "It is also the progress made by Chongqing in expanding the comprehensive opening-up trials in the service sector."

According to an approval statement released on April 20, 2021, developing new systems for a higher-standard open economy, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing municipalities and Hainan province can proceed with 203 comprehensive opening-up trials in the service sector in the next three years.

Transportation, consumption, and financial opening-up

"Regarding comprehensive opening-up pilot programs, Chongqing mainly focuses on constructing an international comprehensive transportation hub, an international consumption center city, and a western financial center to broaden the open field of Chongqing," said Xu.

China's first China Railway Express returning shipment test in the container load succeeded at the end of October. A batch of international postal parcels from Duisburg, Germany, arrived at Chongqing through China Railway Express (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe).

This test was successful because Chongqing is the first and only city in China to operate the importing postal parcels of China-Europe freight trains. Currently, Chongqing has normalized exporting postal parcels and promotes importing postal parcels.

To enhance the construction of the western financial center, Chongqing has launched many pioneering achievements, such as the cross-border loan for science and technology and the pilot of qualified domestic limited partners (QDLP). Seven fund companies to date have been approved for pilot QDLP.

To cultivate an international consumption center, Chongqing has made an innovation pilot. The New International Land-sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) international consumption center, the first bonded exhibition, and trading center, has landed in Yuzhong District.

Thanks to these explorations, Chongqing's use of foreign capital in the first three quarters surged by 13.88% year-on-year.

Exclusive service for more foreign investment

In March this year, a foreign-funded enterprise encountered problems building a new Chongqing factory.

The new factory is about 4 kilometers away from the main factory. According to relevant regulations, the new factory must set up a separate electronic account book to process trade under customs supervision. However, setting up a separate electronic account book requires a significant adjustment to the existing management system, which requires high investment and may delay production.

The enterprise then sought help from the "administrative service steward," a service mechanism introduced by Chongqing Customs District for foreign-funded enterprises. Later, after coordinating several departments, Chongqing Customs District supported the new factory in sharing the existing management system with the main factory, ensuring the cargo transit met the customs' supervision.

Xu introduced that since Chongqing has expanded the opening-up of the service industry, it not only promotes opening up based on the flow of goods and factors of production but also puts greater emphasis on opening up based on rules and institutions.

Chongqing has launched measures to optimize the business environment. For example, Chongqing established China's first cross-regional complaint coordination mechanism for foreign-invested enterprises.

According to a related person in charge of German chemical giant BASF, these policies give them the confidence to increase investment in Chongqing and expand the new material industry chain.