Chongqing- By 2025, the China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (CFTZ) will innovate over 120 crucial institutions of independent cultivation, add more than 100,000 market entities in total, and achieve more than 630 billion yuan (about 94.4 billion U.S. dollars) of foreign trade, local authorities said Wednesday.

On June 8, Chongqing held a policy interpretation on the 14th Five-Year Plan for the CFTZ from 2021 to 2025 to detail relevant tasks and measures.

Targets

According to an official from the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, on May 20, the "14th Five-Year Plan" for China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (2021-2025) was released, which specified creating the CFTZ into a new highland for reform and opening up, an important hub for dual circulation. The plan focuses on building "four districts and one place:" the leading area for inland modern service industries, the core carrier of inland international logistics hubs, the pilot area of inland International Trade Center, the demonstration area of the western financial center, and the leading area of the national advanced manufacturing center. 

The specific indicators are that by 2025, Chongqing will have more than 120 innovation achievements in crucial institutions of independent cultivation, more than 100,000 new market players, and more than 630 billion yuan of foreign trade. By 2035, the CFTZ will be close to the international advanced free trade port and become the core carrier for the linkage between land and sea and the interaction between east and west.

Chongqing will open up key areas such as finance, international transportation, digital economy, and human resources, benchmark with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and promote fair competition, intellectual property protection, and standard convergence.

Concrete measures

To improve trade convenience, Chongqing will develop offshore trade in CFTZ and support banks to explore the authenticity management of offshore resale. In combination with the construction of an international consumption center, Chongqing will expand the import of high-quality consumer goods, medicines, and elderly care goods.

Next, Chongqing will increase investment in Hong Kong and Macao, delegate the approval authority for Hong Kong and Macao service providers to invest and set up travel agencies in the CFTZ according to regulations and attempt to pilot projects for territorial management of online games.

Chongqing will strive to open international freight routes from Chongqing to Europe and the United States through Singapore and international passenger and freight routes from Singapore to Europe and the United States through Chongqing. Promote the widespread application of multimodal bills in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the China Railway Express to Europe, and the Yangtze River Golden Waterway. Encourage the market entities, railway enterprises, and banks of CFTZ to explore the financing mode of railway transport letter.

Chongqing will carry out an innovative pilot bank account system combining RMB with foreign currency, allowing one account to display the balance of RMB and foreign currency. It eliminates complicated procedures and saves time and cost for enterprises to manage bank accounts. Support qualified financial leasing companies registered in the CFTZ to share foreign debt quotas with special purpose vehicles (SPV). Carry out the pilot program of intellectual property securitization in Jiangbei District, Liangjiang New Area, and Western (Chongqing) Science City of Chongqing High-tech Zone.