STORY: A decade on, China's free trade zones become pacesetters for further reform and opening-up
DATELINE: Aug. 2, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:25
LOCATION: SHANGHAI, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of Shanghai FTZ and views in China
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANNA VAN ACKER, Senior Vice President of MSD and President of MSD China
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): TANG HAO, Deputy director, Management committee, Lin-gang Special Area of Shanghai FTZ
4. various of the views in China
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): BELEN GARIJO, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck Group
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): BENOIT BAZIN, CEO, Saint-Gobain Group
 
STORYLINE:
 
In 2013, China set up its first pilot free trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai, a testbed of new opening-up policies.
 
After rounds of expansion, China now has 21 such zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port.
 
They have played a crucial role in attracting foreign investment and stabilizing foreign trade.
 
In 2022, the 21 FTZs saw exports and imports rise 14.5 percent year on year to 7.5 trillion yuan (about 1.04 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for 17.8 percent of the country's total. 
 
The utilized foreign investment in FTZs exceeded 220 billion yuan (about 30.63 billion U.S. dollars), making up 18.1 percent of the total.
 
Behind the booming development of FTZs are the great efforts that governments of all levels in China have made to boost institutional innovation.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ANNA VAN ACKER, Senior Vice President of MSD and President of MSD China
"I think the major improvements have been over the last ten years now with the reform, the regulatory reform. So that's again, products could be approved faster. That's one. Of course, also around the foreign investment law, which is opening up China, which, for us, makes it more conducive environment to really invest."
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): TANG HAO, Deputy director, Management committee, Lin-gang Special Area of Shanghai FTZ
"We should combine the deepening of opening-up with the reform of the system, and combine function developing with policy innovations. We should be bold in pioneering, trying, and making independent innovations. Shanghai focuses on institutional innovation and continues to increase its openness."
 
In the past 10 years, 278 institutional innovations have been formulated in FTZs and then replicated nationwide.
 
Thanks to the favorable business environment, market confidence is further enhanced. 
 
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): BELEN GARIJO, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck Group
"China continues to be a very strategic market for Merck. It's our second most important market and one of the fastest growing, so we have a strong footprint in China that has developed very rapidly in recent years."
 
SOUNDBITE 4 (English): BENOIT BAZIN, CEO, Saint-Gobain Group
"China is a fast-growing market and economy for us. So a lot of energy, a lot of talents. It gives me a lot of confidence for the future."
 
Standing at a new historical starting point, China's FTZ construction will usher in new opportunities and inject more vitality into the country's high-quality development.
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shanghai, China.
(XHTV)