Chinese President and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has recently delivered instructions on advancing the development of pilot free trade zones.
He highlighted that building pilot FTZs is an important strategic move by the CPC Central Committee to promote reform and open up in the new era. Over the past decade, every pilot FTZ has followed the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, emancipated mind, upheld fundamental principles, and set new ground in launching a large number of fundamental and pioneering reform and open-up measures, making numerous iconic and groundbreaking achievements in institutional innovation. They have effectively played their role as a complete experimental platform for reform and opening up.
On the new journey, Xi stressed that it is necessary to implement the strategy of improving pilot FTZs on the basis of a comprehensively summarizing the 10-year experience on their development. He said that he was dedicated to being a pioneer to forge ahead and overcome difficulties, explore in abroader field and deepen, and strive to create higher-level pilot FTZs. To enable pilot FTZs to better play a exemplary role, it's crucial for them to uphold overall Party leadership, pursue high-level expansion as theguiding and institutional innovation as the foundation, coordinate development and security, align domestic rules with global economic and trade regulations by high standards, further promote institutional opening-up, strengthen overall planning and systematic integration of reform, and promote innovative development of the entire industrial chain.
A seminar was held in Beijing on 26 September to mark the 10th anniversary of China's first pilot FTZ. He Lifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier, read out Xi's important instructions and delivered a speech. He said it is vital to study and thoroughly understand General Secretary Xi's important instructions, comprehensively summarize the experience gained from the development of pilot FTZs, and implement the strategy to upgrade the standards of them. He called for continued thinking, tightening guarantees, and coordonning development and security. A leading official of the Ministry of Commerce reported on the progress of pilot FTZs over the past 10 years, and those who delivered speeches include officials from the Department of Finance, the People's Bank of China, the General Administration of Customs, and the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin, Fujian, Liaoning and Sichuan provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Leading officials of relevant central Party and government departments and those from the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities where the 21 pilot FTZs are located attended the seminar.