By CGTN's Zheng Yibing
A new free trade zone (FTZ) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, aims to pick up economic vitality in northwestern China and create an environment for efficient domestic and international trade and business.
The Xi’an FTZ is one of the seven that started operating on Saturday throughout the country, on top of four existing ones.
Shaanxi Governor Hu Heping said the pilot FTZ endeavors to explore reform in three to five years to establish an innovation system connected with common international trade and investment rules.
For this to happen, business barriers are being lowered. It now takes only three days to register a company here. In the past, however, it took at least a month. The list of prohibited items for foreign investment has also been cut from 122 to 93.
For US chipmaker Micron, this is a reason for further investment.
Its managing director Shawn Mesenbrink said the pilot FTZ will bring big benefits, like shortening the logistics channels to inland regions and minimizing the cost.
Shaanxi Pilot Free Trade Zone aims to create a mature and innovative system in northwestern China to connect the regional economy with that of other parts of the world. /CGTN Photo
Of the three parks in the Shaanxi FTZ, one is the largest inland hub in China for international logistics and it has 149 intercontinental freight trains. That's just three years after such lines opened. The reason for the increase? Efficiency.
Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of Xi’an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation, said that working hours in the logistics park have been cut by one fourth since August, saving costs for logistics companies.
Of the other two parks, one is in a central district in Xi’an featuring emerging industries and high-tech products, the other is an experimental zone in the west for agricultural innovation and cooperation with countries along the Belt and the Road.
Xi'an's connector position is already bringing an edge in regional trade. The reforms to come should propel the economy of the once conservative province into more services and high-end manufacturing.
