Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone：A New Channel for Trade with Europe

On October 19， 2014， Chongqing International Exhibition & Trading Center is offi cially put into operation. （Photograph by Xinhua News Agency； Image from Xinhuanet ）

According to the news released by the Ministry of Commerce on August 31， 2016， a pilot free trade zone would be set up in Chongqing and other 6 provinces or municipalities. This means that Chongqing will be given more favorable policies in the fi elds of trade and investment in the near future and goods can be imported and exported with no tariffs.

On September 8， Secretary of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee Sun Zhengcai presided at the conference of the Standing Committee of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee to discuss the Overall Plan for China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Sun said at the conference that Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone was set up in accordance with the Central Government's requirement to make full use of Chongqing's role as a supportive and linking point and speed up the opening-up of this gateway city in the western regions. It is an attempt to prompt Chongqing to play a leading role in carrying out the state Western Development Strategy in a deep-going way.

According to this requirement， the Overall Plan has made it clear that Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone should focus on system innovation： we strive to build it into an inland pilot trade zone in which investment and trade are convenient， supervision easy and effective with high-quality financial service， standard legal environment， prosperous high-end industries and obvious leading effect. Upon completion， it will be an inland international logistic hub， an inland center for service trade， a functional fi nancial center， and a hub that connects “the Belt and Road” Initiative with the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Moreover， it will be a pivot of the Western Development Strategy and a forerunner of the China-Singapore（Chongqing） Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity.

The free trade zone brings Chongqing a new round of opportunities for development. It will， so to speak， bring Chongqing， the only municipality directly under the Central Government in West China， many more favorable policies after the China-Singapore cooperation project.

Covering an area of nearly 120 square kilometers， Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone consists of three parts： Liangjiang New District， Chongqing Western Logistics Park and Chongqing Microelectronic Industrial Park. Among them， Liangjiang New District is the largest， covering 2/3 of the total area. Based on the three bonded areas， it extends itself to the Cloud Computing Base through the airport， to the Guoyuan Port and Jiangbei Financial Center， and to Tuanjiecun area through the radiation of Xiyong Comprehensive Bonded Area. As “the Belt and Road” Initiative and the strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt are being carried out in an in-depth way， the Liangjiang New District-based inland free trade zone in Chongqing will echo afar with Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. This will surely help to accelerate the opening up of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the western regions of China.