Beijing Accelerates to Lead the Nation in Expanding Service Industry Opening-Up

Beijing News, China News Service, March 9 — According to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce on the 9th, as the only national comprehensive demonstration zone for expanding the service industry, Beijing closely aligns with the city’s strategic positioning, orderly expands the openness of the service sector, and has implemented over 70 breakthrough policies nationwide. More than 80 innovative achievements have been replicated and promoted nationwide, and over 150 innovative practices are being promoted across the city. In each evaluation of national pilot demonstrations for expanding the service industry, Beijing has ranked first, contributing to the construction of a high-standard service industry opening system with the “Beijing Practice.”

Beijing continues to relax market access and promote mutual benefit and sharing in services. Focusing on modern service industries such as technology, digital economy, culture, and finance, the city has implemented nearly 300 pilot measures approved by the State Council in two rounds, balancing domestic and foreign investment, access and operation, and attracting talent and investment. It was among the first in the country to pilot opening in fields like value-added telecommunications and healthcare, establishing the nation’s first foreign-invested enterprise in human gene diagnosis and treatment technology. Over 60 foreign-invested enterprises have participated in these pilots. The new opening measures have brought new investment opportunities. By 2025, Beijing will have established over 2,400 new foreign-invested enterprises, reaching a historic high. The investment structure has been further optimized, with companies like Prudential Asset Management, BNP Paribas Tiansing Insurance approved to operate, and AstraZeneca’s global strategic R&D center officially launched. Medtronic’s first digital medical innovation base in China has been established, making Beijing an increasingly open, sharing, and innovative stage.

Beijing deepens reforms in key areas to improve the efficiency of factor coordination. It has pioneered the implementation of the WTO Electronic Commerce Agreement, strengthened cooperation with DEPA (Digital Economy Partnership Agreement) members, and launched a series of pioneering practices, including the world’s first interoperable digital collection cooperation project. The city released China’s first comprehensive reform document to facilitate cross-border data flow, introduced the first negative list for data export in a scenario-based free trade pilot zone, and promoted the application of this list across the entire city. It has broken through longstanding issues in property registration for non-monetary trust assets such as real estate and equity, solving long-standing property rights confirmation problems. Beijing was the first in the country to publish an international professional qualification recognition catalog, which continues to be upgraded. These institutional innovations have effectively stimulated market vitality. By 2025, Beijing’s service exports are expected to grow by 11%, reaching a record high.

Beijing promotes the quality and upgrading of key parks to create diverse open hubs. It has built a multi-faceted open platform combining the Free Trade Pilot Zone, key parks for expanding the service industry, and comprehensive bonded zones. A total of 21 key parks (clusters) have been launched across the city, with special actions to develop and upgrade these parks according to local conditions, fostering new productive forces. Beijing Financial Street aims to become a highland for asset management, with asset management institutions in the district managing about half of the city’s total and one-eighth of the national total. Lize Financial Business District has introduced landmark projects such as Anruijiaer Insurance Brokerage (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and the China Payment and Clearing Association, with over 60% of enterprises in finance and technology sectors. The layout of comprehensive bonded zones has become more complete. After the Zhongguancun Comprehensive Bonded Zone, featuring R&D and innovation, began operations in 2024, the Yizhuang Comprehensive Bonded Zone, themed on new productive forces, will start operations by the end of 2025. Beijing has formed a layout combining airport-type and industrial-type bonded zones to better serve high-quality development needs.

A relevant person from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce stated that next, Beijing will actively align with international high-standard trade and economic rules, promote the release of the 3.0 plan for the comprehensive demonstration zone for expanding the service industry, encourage the coordinated development of bonded zones, implement key park opening enhancement actions, and improve the level of institutional opening, systemic reform effectiveness, and the quality of an open economy. This will inject new momentum for higher-level opening and deeper reforms. (End)