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E-mail China.org.cn, July 2, 2024
Phoenix Satellite Television:
Shanxi has become increasingly active in international trade and economic cooperation. Could you provide details on the specific measures being taken to expand opening-up and to accelerate the establishment of a new highland for opening-up in inland areas? Thank you!
Jin Xiangjun:
Thank you for your question. I will answer it. As many of you may have noticed, last month, a China-Europe Railway Express train departing from Shanxi arrived in Barcelona, Spain, for the first time. Currently, the province operates 15 regular lines of the China-Europe Railway Express, connecting 48 cities in 16 countries worldwide. It's fair to say that, as an inland province, Shanxi's door to the outside world is opening wider and wider. Regarding the key measures you are concerned about for the next steps, I believe they can be summarized as "four key focuses."
First, we will simultaneously advance institutional opening-up and opening-up based on the flow of production factors. Starting with the establishment of a high-standard market system, we have replicated and promoted 136 practices from free trade pilot zones and introduced 16 high-standard regulations aligned with international standards. We have improved policies and measures to support self-operated export of bulk commodities, facilitate the transfer of manufacturing industries encouraging foreign investment from eastern regions , and promote innovation in the opening-up of service trade.
Second, we will prioritize both external and internal opening-up efforts. On the one hand, we will actively integrate into major national strategies, leveraging our comparative advantages to expand development opportunities. On the other hand, we will proactively implement the eight key steps to support high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, deepen regional cooperation with member countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and promote multimodal transportation connections such as rail-sea, air-rail, and road-rail transportation. We will particularly focus on enhancing passenger routes to Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea, expanding freight routes to the Americas and Europe, and improving the functionality of platforms such as comprehensive bonded zones, cross-border e-commerce pilot zones, aviation hubs, international land ports, and overseas warehouses.
Third, we will emphasize the synergy between "going out" and "bringing in." While intensifying efforts to attract foreign investment, we will also support leading foreign trade enterprises in stabilizing and expanding trade in intermediate goods. Additionally, we will continuously expand the export of advantageous products such as everyday ceramics and specialty agricultural products. We will cultivate new growth points in foreign trade like rail transportation, new energy vehicles, and photovoltaics and expand bonded maintenance services for aircraft and mobile phones. Additionally, we will actively develop service trade sectors such as culture and traditional Chinese medicine and vigorously promote the growth of digital trade.
Fourth, we are committed to simultaneously optimizing the business environment and strengthening key entities. Our efforts are focused on enhancing trade and investment facilitation, completely removing restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, and improving regulatory services at inland ports. We have achieved 100% coverage of key international trade processes through the single window system. Additionally, we are focused on strengthening foreign trade entities and encouraging leading enterprises to establish regional trade headquarters in Shanxi. A key statistic: last year, over 2,000 enterprises in Shanxi were engaged in import and export activities. An increasing number of new businesses from Shanxi are venturing abroad and embracing the global market. Thank you!
