Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone: Making Five Years’ Effort to Build Chongqing into a Leader of Opening-up From Building Solid Foundation to Gathering Strong Momentum從“夯基壘臺”到“積厚成勢”重慶自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)5周年筑牢開放新高地

楊艷

The strategy of developing a pilot free trade zone （FTZ） is a milestone of the reform and opening-up endeavor in the new era.

Since the Shanghai pilot FTZ was established nine years ago in 2013， initial layout of the 21 pilot FTZs in China has taken into shape， fully covering key borders， coastal and riverside areas nationwide. There are：

a.） demonstration zones incorporating “experimental sections” serving comprehensive reform;

b.） pilot zones， leading centers， and pivotal hubs promoting domestic and international exchanges， development， opening-up， and connectivity.

The China （Chongqing） Pilot Free Trade Zone （hereinafter referred to as Chongqing Pilot FTZ）， an inland FTZ neither close to border nor sea， has celebrated its 5th birthday.

On 31st March， at the Press Conference on the 5th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone held by the Chongqing Municipal Information Office， the FTZ published its outstanding achievements：

a.） 151 pilot reform tasks in the overall plan are fully implemented， an outcome driven by institutional innovation and guided by the principal of making replicable and scalable practices.

b.） 90% of the cases and measures serving reform and innovation? deployed by the central government have been put into practice.

According to Li Xunfu， Deputy Director-General of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce， four achievements have been scored over the past five years since the establishment of the FTZ. Chongqing has leveraged pilot zone of opening-up and innovation to blaze new trails based on specific development conditions. For instance， with the China-Europe Railway Express （Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe International Railway）， Chongqing has established the first Railway B/L as International L/C in the world and realized scalable application. In addition， three standards including the operation rules for international freight forwarders and railway multi-modal transport have been approved as national criterion.

In terms of developing the New International Land-Sea Corridor in Western China， following outcomes have made：

a.） Chinas first B/L for multi-modal transport of the China International Freight Forwarders Association has been issued;

b.） Pilot projects of the “single through B/L” for rail-sea multi-modal transport have been promoted;

c.） New rules on trade， logistics， and finance connecting maritime and land spaces have been explored;

d.） New logistics model， under which goods are delivered without changing container box in the rail-sea transport have been promoted， reducing the overall customs clearance time by 40%;

e.） Chinas first application scenario of cross-border financial blockchain serving financing and settlement of the New International Land-Sea Corridor in Western China has been launched;

f.） Financing of more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars for logistics enterprises have been provided.

In terms of developing the Yangtze River Economic Belt， Chongqing has worked with Shanghai Pilot FTZ to open the Shanghai-Chongqing Direct Express and explore the new model of river-sea multi-modal transport to facilitate customs clearance. Chongqing has made pilot practice of streamlining custom clearance procedures for imported goods shipped to Chongqing and transferred in Shanghai. Upon confirmation of its following transport information within China， the imported goods are ready to leave the port in Shanghai. This practice reduces the time of river transport by 40%.

Secondly， Chongqing has act as the trailblazer of reform and innovation. By fully optimizing its doing business environment， actively aligning itself with international high-standard economic and trade regulations， and promoting institutional opening-up step by step， Chongqing has made satisfactory results including 88 key institutional innovations， 7 of which have been replicated and promoted nationwide and 66 of which in the Municipality. In addition， Chongqing has fostered market-oriented and law-based doing business environment matching international practices.

Based on the strategic positioning and industrial status quo of Chongqing， positioning of the export-oriented industries and industries with unique advantages in the nine sections of Liangjiang new areas， Yuzhong District， etc. are perfected. By doing so， strong efforts are made to pool foreign trade projects in the FTZ and to make market entities to flourish here in the FTZ. Over the past five years， 65，000 new market entities have established their presences in the FTZ.

Export-oriented industries are clustered in Chongqing. Newly established foreign-funded enterprises in the FTZ account for 20% of Chongqing. The FTZ has attracted over 35% of foreign direct investment of Chongqing and gathered more than a quarter of the import and export enterprises of the Municipality， contributing to 70% of Chongqings total foreign trade volume.

Additionally， Chongqing has promoted the development of Collaborative Opening-up Demonstration of Sichuan& Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone. Working in cooperation， the two zones have signed the work plan for the joint construction， established the China-Europe Railway Express （Chengdu， Chongqing） as the first cooperation brand. “Customs-Bank One KEY Link”， “Single Through B/L” for multi-model transport and other cross-regional， multi-sectoral and cross-level institutional innovation outcomes have been made.

Starting from scratch and developing towards excellence， the FTZ has scored visible achievements in trade， investment， finance， and administration. With innovations and reforms， the FTZ embodies Chongqings effort of high-level opening-up and high-quality development. Reviewing its experiences and practices over the past five years， the FTZ first build solid foundations and outlines of development and then gather momentum for comprehensive and dynamic growth. The unleashed dividend of reform brings out sustained vitality of innovation and robust force of opening-up， picking up steam in forming a new pattern of comprehensive opening-up in all fields .

建設(shè)自由貿(mào)易試驗區(qū)，作為新時代推進改革開放的一項戰(zhàn)略舉措，具有里程碑的重要意義。

從2013年中國（上海）自由貿(mào)易試驗區(qū)成立，經(jīng)過9年布局，全國21個自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)的空間結(jié)構(gòu)基本成型，有效覆蓋沿海沿邊沿江等重點區(qū)域，既有服務(wù)全面深化改革的示范區(qū)“試驗田”，又有加強內(nèi)外交流推進開發(fā)開放互聯(lián)互通的先行區(qū)、輻射中心、支點、節(jié)點。而不靠邊境、不臨大海，身處內(nèi)陸的中國（重慶）自由貿(mào)易試驗區(qū)（以下簡稱：重慶自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)）也迎來了5周歲“生日”。

3月31日，在市政府新聞辦舉行的重慶自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)建設(shè)5周年新聞發(fā)布會上，重慶公布了一張亮眼成績單：5年來，堅持以制度創(chuàng)新為核心，以可復(fù)制可推廣為基本要求，推動總體方案151項改革試點任務(wù)全面落地，國家部署的復(fù)制推廣經(jīng)驗案例和深化改革創(chuàng)新舉措落實率超過90%。

重慶市商務(wù)委副主任李巡府介紹，重慶自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)掛牌成立5年來，主要取得了四個方面成效。首先是發(fā)揮開放創(chuàng)新“試驗田”作用，差異化探索闖出新路。例如，重慶依托中歐班列（渝新歐）開立全球首份“鐵路提單國際信用證”，并實現(xiàn)批量化運用;制定國際貨運代理鐵路聯(lián)運作業(yè)規(guī)范等3項標(biāo)準(zhǔn)獲批為國家標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

服務(wù)西部陸海新通道建設(shè)方面，重慶簽發(fā)全國首張中國國際貨運代理協(xié)會多式聯(lián)運提單，推動鐵海聯(lián)運“一單制”試點，探索建立連通海上與陸上的貿(mào)易物流金融新規(guī)則;推廣“鐵路原箱下海、一箱到底”模式，整體通關(guān)時間壓縮40%;上線全國首個跨境金融區(qū)塊鏈西部陸海新通道融資結(jié)算應(yīng)用場景，為物流企業(yè)提供融資超15億美元。

服務(wù)長江經(jīng)濟帶發(fā)展方面，重慶與上海自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)聯(lián)動，常態(tài)化開行滬渝直達快線，探索江海聯(lián)運一體化便利通關(guān)新模式;在全國率先開展水運進口轉(zhuǎn)關(guān)“離港確認(rèn)”試點，提升江運時效40%。

其次，重慶發(fā)揮改革創(chuàng)新“排頭兵”作用，營商環(huán)境全面優(yōu)化，主動對接國際高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)經(jīng)貿(mào)規(guī)則，穩(wěn)步推進制度型開放，累計培育重點制度創(chuàng)新成果88項，其中7項向全國復(fù)制推廣，66項在全市復(fù)制推廣，營商環(huán)境市場化、法治化、國際化水平不斷提升。

重慶還結(jié)合自身戰(zhàn)略定位和產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展實際，不斷完善兩江新區(qū)、渝中等9大板塊外向型產(chǎn)業(yè)和特色優(yōu)勢產(chǎn)業(yè)的目標(biāo)定位，加快外資外貿(mào)項目向自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)集聚發(fā)展，市場主體蓬勃發(fā)展。5年來，累計新增市場主體6.5萬戶。

重慶外向型產(chǎn)業(yè)集聚明顯，新設(shè)外資企業(yè)占重慶全市比重20%，吸引全市超35%的外商直接投資，集聚全市超四分之一的進出口企業(yè)，貢獻了全市約70%的進出口貿(mào)易總額。

此外，重慶還深入推進川渝自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)協(xié)同開放示范區(qū)建設(shè)，共同簽署共建示范區(qū)工作方案，共同創(chuàng)建全國首個中歐班列合作品牌中歐班列（成渝），協(xié)同集成了全國首創(chuàng)的關(guān)銀“一KEY通”、多式聯(lián)運“一單制”等跨區(qū)域、跨部門、跨層級制度創(chuàng)新成果。

從無到有，從有到優(yōu)。重慶自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)在貿(mào)易、投資、金融、政務(wù)等方面“遍地開花”，有創(chuàng)新，有改革，這里正成為重慶“高水平開放”“高質(zhì)量發(fā)展”的重要體現(xiàn)?；厥走^去，經(jīng)過5年的探索與實踐，重慶自貿(mào)試驗區(qū)已經(jīng)從“夯基壘臺、立柱架梁”發(fā)展到“全面推進、積厚成勢”階段，改革紅利充分釋放，創(chuàng)新活力持續(xù)迸發(fā)，開放動能更加強勁，全方位全領(lǐng)域的開放新格局正在加快形成。