The State Council recently issued the "Notice on the Promotion of the Replication and Promotion of Pilot Measures for the Implementation of High-Standard Opening-Up Systems in Free Trade Pilot Zones."

The Notice states that in [month], the State Council issued the "Several Measures for Pilot Implementation of Connecting with International High Standards to Promote Institutional Opening-up in Free Trade Pilot Zones and Free Trade Ports with Favorable Conditions," which initially launched pilot programs in the Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian, and Beijing Free Trade Pilot Zones, as well as in the Hainan Free Trade Port. After one year of pioneering and experimental efforts, a series of original and leading institutional innovations were carried out, exploring paths and accumulating experiences for the steady expansion of institutional opening-up in China.

The Notice requires that the replication and promotion work should be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the 2nd, 3rd Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee, actively align with the high-standard international economic and trade rules, expand institutional opening in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards, and build a system and regulatory model that aligns with high-standard international economic and trade rules on a wider scale.

The pilot measures for replication and promotion cover various aspects such as trade in goods, trade in services, digital trade, personnel entry, business environment, and risk control. The measures are to be replicated and promoted across all free trade zones, including piloting the import of remanufactured products in key industries, allowing foreign financial institutions to offer new financial services similar to those provided by domestic financial institutions, establishing a comprehensive evaluation process for the competency of overseas professionals, and permitting accompanying spouses and family members of foreign experts transferred within the company to have the same duration of stay and residence as the experts. The measures are also to be replicated and promoted nationwide, including not denying preferential tariff treatment due to minor errors in the certificate of origin, making decisions on extension requests promptly before the expiration of the advance ruling, and allowing the import of wines labeled with specific adjectives.