A sub-forum themed "Pilot Free Trade Zones (FTZ): Opportunities and Challenges" was held On December 7 during the 2017 Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou.
The sub-forum attracted about 200 officials and representatives from Global 500 enterprises and leading players in industries, academia and trade associations.
A sub-forum themed "Pilot Free Trade Zones (FTZ): Opportunities and Challenges" was held On December 7 during the 2017 Fortune Global Forum in Guangzhou. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]
During the sub-forum, a panel discussion was conducted, focusing on FTZ and its effects on building open economy, cross-border e-commerce and financial innovation.
Stefan Oschmann, Chairman and CEO of Merck, said they have established a branch in Shanghai FTZ, and would set up a R&D center in Nansha FTZ soon in the future. “The FTZ tightened our connections with clients. As we all registered here, we are closer in the distance and easier to build trust.”
Matthew Price, Chairman of the Board and President of P&G Greater China, unveiled that they have set up businesses in the FTZs, and found the FTZs convenient and facilitate their trade business. They hoped the FTZ could grow larger in scale and offer more innovative policies that could further the open economy.
The sub-forum was sponsored by Guangzhou Municipal Government and hosted by Administrative Committee of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone Nansha Area of Guangzhou.
Nansha FTZ
The business environment of Nansha pilot free trade zone has been constantly optimized. Among 289 of its innovation achievements, 19 have been promoted all around the country; 74 were adopted by Guangdong and 124 were applied by Guangzhou. The "cross-border e-commerce supervision model" and "new model of government services exclusive for enterprises" are selected by the Ministry of Commerce as "best practices".
Nansha FTZ is pioneered for its trade facilitation nationwide. A lot of strategies have been released to improve the average clearance efficiency by more than 50% and forms Nansha's "wisdom port" brand. These strategies include International trade "single window" 2.0, import and export commodity quality traceability system, direct custom clearance for vessels without bad records and a number of landmark reforms, which
Nansha FTZ adopted various methods to facilitate investment. For example, the negative list of foreign investment in 2017 edition has been carried out in pilot free trade zones. A special window is set for enterprise registration, which could handle "twenty-six certificates and six seals" all at once. 10 business registration measures, including the general business registration confirmation system, have been taken to promote the pilot project to "certificate and license separation", taking the lead in integrating three links of "commercial registration, seals preparation for the record and bank account opening" into one. Website providing enterprises with 395 items of government services has been released.
Nansha FTZ accelerated administrative system reform. The administrative examination and approval bureau and the comprehensive law enforcement bureau have been set up, which contributes to a relatively centralized administrative licensing system. It also accelerated the construction of management and service systems, i.e. one-window management and acceptance system, a common seal for examination and approval system, and a law enforcement team.
Nansha FTZ has been continuously strengthening its law environment. It has established the Guangzhou maritime court, the Guangdong circuit court for FTZ and the first labor and personnel dispute arbitration within the FTZs in China.
