FTZs provide robust support for foreign businesses operating in China: ministry

As a crucial platform for the government to promote high-level opening-up, China's pilot free trade zones (FTZs) have introduced pioneering reforms to create a first-class business environment characterized by market-oriented practices, rule of law and internationalization, providing robust support for foreign enterprises operating in China, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

In terms of market access, the pilot FTZs have introduced a negative list for foreign investment and a negative list for cross-border service trade, while further opening-up arrangements have been made in sectors such as value-added telecommunications, commercial services, finance and culture, the spokesperson said.

To align with international high-standard economic and trade rules, the ministry has introduced over 110 pilot measures and supported eligible FTZs and the Hainan Free Trade Port to engage with frameworks such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, the spokesperson said.

In 2024, the 22 FTZs attracted 28.25 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment in actual use, accounting for 24.3 percent of the country's total, the spokesperson said.

China established its first pilot FTZ in Shanghai in 2013, with the major mission of trialing transformative reforms in government functions, the country's financial system, trade services, foreign investment and taxation, as well as pilot policies that could later be applied across the country. ■