Ministry of Commerce: By 2035, create approximately 35 national service trade innovation and development demonstration zones

On May 14th, the Ministry of Commerce held a press conference to introduce the recent key work in the business field.

At the meeting, a reporter asked: Recently, the Ministry of Commerce issued the "Overall Plan for the Construction of National Service Trade Innovation and Development Demonstration Zones", and clarified that the construction of demonstration zones will be carried out first in 17 places including Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai. Can you introduce the overall considerations for the construction of the demonstration zone?

Spokesperson He Yongqian stated that building a national service trade innovation and development demonstration zone is a major decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. The Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments, has formulated an overall plan, clarifying the overall goals, main tasks, and creation path of the demonstration zone construction. On the basis of the pilot program for innovative development of service trade, we will highlight demand driven, reform driven, technology empowered, and open cooperation, and continue to create a number of major service trade open cooperation platforms that rank among the top in scale, gather high-end factors, have outstanding innovation capabilities, and have significant trade industry linkage and radiation effects. We will cultivate a group of service export enterprises and key service industry clusters with international competitiveness, form a more sound system and business environment for innovative development, and lead and drive the innovative development of service trade nationwide.

He Yongqian introduced that the Ministry of Commerce will take the lead in building demonstration zones in 17 regions including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Dalian, and Xiamen, and will create about 35 demonstration zones by 2035. Specifically, differentiated exploration will be carried out around exploring integrated innovation of industrial and supply chains, cultivating competitive advantages of business entities, promoting efficient supply of production factors, advancing high-level opening up to the outside world, and building a domestic and international promotion system. At the same time, guide local governments to leverage their resource endowments and location advantages, and promote the coordinated development of service trade, investment, consumption, and industry.

Next, the Ministry of Commerce will work with relevant departments and localities to implement, support and guide other eligible cities to actively apply for demonstration zones, and continue to promote high-quality development of service trade.