City optimizes trade rules in FTZ to further promote liberalization

SHANGHAI authorities yesterday issued detailed plans on implementing high-standard trade rules in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone to promote trade liberalization and facilitation to align the FTZ with the highest international standards.

In response to the State Council’s plan to improve the Shanghai FTZ’s trade rules released in December, the city government issued a detailed program containing 117 measures in eight areas, highlighted by optimizing digital economy regulation, improving government procurement, and enhancing financial risk prevention and control, to help build an open and reliable business environment of the highest rank.

The initiative mandated that payment service providers implement electronic payment services that satisfy global standards and use digital identities for cross-border authentication and electronic identification.

Under the framework of security regulatory supervision, financial institutions are permitted to transmit data of daily operations abroad and handle cross-border assets, and multinational corporations were urged to establish global or regional treasury centers to allow funds to flow freely within the FTZ and beyond.

The initiative laid out ways to make high-standard digital trade happen, like creating a digital platform that can be used interactively and connect to the European Union’s Peppol system. This system allows for electronic data exchanges and the digitalization of warehouse receipts and other related documents.

The city government has proposed setting up a data-sharing framework to facilitate contacts between small and medium-sized enterprises and offshore organizations, thereby promoting international cooperation.

To make international trade more convenient in Shanghai, the government vowed to exclude certain commodities from duty and tax, exempt imported wines and distilled spirits from labeling, and establish precise labeling standards for medical devices imported into the FTZ.

The program also included guidelines for protecting trademarks and geographical indications, standardizing and applying artificial intelligence technology, and managing government procurements.

Since the establishment of the Shanghai FTZ in 2013, the Pudong New Area has launched nearly 19,000 new foreign-invested projects, with a total foreign registered capital of more than US$200 billion.