Hubei political advisor urges new FTZ to recover

Coming from Wuhan, capital of Central China’s Hubei Province which was the hardest-hit place by the coronavirus outbreak in China and having been deeply feeling the impact of the global health crisis, Hu Zhongjun, a political advisor, brought a proposal to this year’s two sessions, in which he suggests that the country establish a “new” pilot free trade zone in Hubei to help the province recover from the epidemic.

“Hubei, an important transportation hub, is home to many key industries such as automobile manufacturing, electronic information, new materials and biomedicine. Setting up a new free trade zone will not only promote the province’s development, but also provide experience for the whole country,” Hu, President of Hubei Socialist College and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee, told the Global Times.

He said that the “new” pilot free trade zone refers to zero tariffs, zero barriers and zero subsidies.

“Some economists have suggested that this is the future development direction of the domestic pilot free trade zone. Zero tariffs could be conducive to reducing the cost of enterprises and absorbing global investment in Hubei. Zero barriers could benefit industries with long industrial chains, such as logistics, air transport, warehousing services,” Hu said.

As Hubei gradually returns to normalcy, Wuhan is also mulling a slew of measures to accelerate its revival. Under the aegis of the Wuhan Natural Resources and Planning Bureau, the city has formulated a post-epidemic recovery scheme.

With five significant aspects of medication and healthcare, emergency and disaster prevention, smart community, healthy city, and economic revival, the scheme is designed to accelerate the strengthening of the city’s weak points, enhance its foundation and bolster confidence.