Circular of the State Council on Issuing the Overall Plan for China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone

Circular of the State Council on Issuing the Overall Plan for China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone

Guo Fa [2015] No.20

April 8, 2015

The people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; all ministries and commissions of the State Council and all institutions directly under the State Council,

The State Council has approved the Overall Plan for China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), which is hereby issued.

I. Setting up China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "FJFTZ") is a major decision made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, and a major initiative for promoting the reform and opening up under the new circumstances and deepening cross-Straits economic cooperation, as well as is of great significance in accelerating the transformation of government functions, actively exploring innovation in management modes, facilitating trade and investment and exploring new methods and accumulating new experience for comprehensively deepening reform and expanding opening-up.

II. The FJFTZ shall play the role of a bellwether of reform and opening up and a pioneer of innovative development, center on system innovation, implement national strategies including the construction of "One Belt and one Road", and take the lead in exploring reform potential and solving reform difficulties in terms of the establishment of a new open economic system, exploration of a new mode of Fujian-Taiwan economic cooperation and construction of a legal business environment. The FJFTZ shall actively explore the management mode of national treatment plus negative list before foreign investment access, deepen the reform of administrative system, and enhance the capacity and level of interim and ex-post supervision.

III. The Fujian Provincial People's Government and relevant departments shall free the mind, conduct the reform and innovation, valiant practices, active exploration and coordination and planning, strengthen the coordination, and support the FJFTZ to take the lead in carrying out the pilot work. They shall reinforce the organization and leadership, specify subjects of responsibility, carefully organize the implementation of the Plan, and effectively control various risks; summarize and evaluate pilot implementation effects in a timely manner, form reproducible and propagable reform experience, and give play to the active role of modelling, driving and serving the whole country.

IV. In accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Authorizing the State Council to Temporarily Adjust the Administrative Approvals under the Relevant Laws in the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Expanded Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, certain provisions of relevant administrative regulations and the documents of the State Council have been temporarily and correspondingly adjusted. Details are otherwise issued by the State Council.

V. For any material issue arising from the implementation of the Plan, the Fujian Provincial People's Government shall seek instructions from and report to the State Council on a timely basis.

Overall Plan for China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone

Setting up China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the "FJFTZ") is a major decision made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as the "CPC") and the State Council and a major initiative for comprehensively deepening reform and expanding opening up under the new circumstances, and deepening cross-Straits economic cooperation. The Plan is formulated for the purpose of promoting the construction of the FJFTZ comprehensively and effectively.

I. General Requirements
1. Guiding ideology
The FJFTZ shall fully carry out the spirits of the 18th CPC National Congress and the second, third and fourth plenary sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, make arrangements according to decisions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, focus on national strategies, be based on the deepening of cross-Straits economic cooperation and system and mechanism innovations, further free mind, take the lead, explore a new mode for deepening cross-Straits economic cooperation, expand new channels for intensifying communications and cooperation with countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, accumulate new experience in comprehensively deepening the reform and expanding the opening up in China, and give play to the active role of modelling, driving and serving the whole country.
2. Strategic positioning
By focusing on the strategic requirements for basing on Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, serving the whole country and being oriented to the world, the FJFTZ shall give full play to pilot reform advantages, create an international, market-oriented and legal business environment, and build itself into a demonstration zone deepening cross-Straits economic cooperation; give full play to the foremost advantages of opening up to construct the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and a new highland of opening up and cooperation oriented to the countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
3. Development objectives
The FJFTZ shall insist on the combination of expanding opening up and deepening reform and the combination of function cultivation and system innovation, speed up the transformation of government functions, and establish a new system in line with international investment trade rules; innovate cross-Straits cooperation mechanism, impel the free flow of various elements such as goods, services, funds and personnel, and strengthen economic relevancy of Fujian Province and Taiwan; speed up the formation of a new pattern of opening up at a higher level, and expand the depth and breadth of communications and cooperation with countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road; upon reforms and explorations in three to five years, endeavour to build itself into a free trade zone with convenient investment trade, prominent financial innovation functions, sound service system, efficient and convenient supervision and standardized legal environment.

II. Zone Layout
1. Implementation scope
The implementation scope of the FJFTZ is 118.04 km2, covering three areas: Pingtan area of 43 km2, Xiamen area of 43.78 km2 (including Xiangyu Free Trade Zone of 0.6 km2, Xiangyu Bonded Logistics Zone of 0.7 km2 and Xiamen Haicang Bonded Port of 9.51 km2), and Fuzhou area of 31.26 km2 (including Fuzhou Free Trade Zone of 0.6 km2, Fuzhou Export Processing Zone of 1.14 km2 and Fuzhou Free Trade Port of 9.26 km2).
The land development and use in the FJFTZ shall conform to laws and regulations on land use.
2. Functional division
According to the division by zone layout, Pingtan area shall primarily construct the common homeland of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland and international tourism island, and take freer and more convenient measures in respect of investment trade, fund flows and personnel exchanges; Xiamen area shall primarily construct a demonstrative area of cooperation in cross-Straits emerging industries and modern service industries, Southeast International Shipping Center, and cross-Straits regional financial service center and trade center; and, Fuzhou area shall primarily construct an advanced manufacturing base, an important platform of communications and cooperation of countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and a demonstrative area of cross-Straits service trade and financial innovative cooperation.
According to the division by customs supervision ways, the special customs supervision areas in the FJFTZ shall mainly explore the system innovation with trade facilitation as main content, and conduct the business including international trade, bonded processing and bonded logistics; and, the other areas shall mainly explore investment system reform, impel financial system innovation, and proactively develop modern service industry and high-end manufacturing industries.

III. Main Tasks and Measures
1. Practically transform government functions
(1) Deepen the reform of administrative system. According to requirements for internationalization, marketization and legalization, the Fujian Provincial People's Government shall speed up promoting the innovation of government administration mode, and delegate all economic and social administration authorities to the FJFTZ to the largest extent; make public administration authorities and processes in accordance with the law; and, speed up the reform of administrative examination and approval system, and impel the standardization and normalization of examination and approval. The Fujian Provincial People's Government shall establish and perfect the system of administrative examination and approval items, and implement the service mode of "all-in-one acceptance"; improve systems of management over intellectual property rights and law enforcement as well as service mechanisms of dispute resolution, aid and arbitration; and, perfect social service system, and grant step by step functions undertaken by government departments such as assets evaluation, appraisal, consulting, identification and inspection and testing to professional service institutions of laws, accounting, credit, inspection and testing identification and so on.
2. Propel the reform of investment management system
(2) Reform foreign investment management mode. Explore the implementation of the management mode of national treatment plus negative list before foreign investment access. Regarding fields other than those under special management measures (negative list) for foreign investment access, the filing system shall be implemented for foreign investment projects (unless the State Council stipulates that the examination and approval shall be retained for domestic investment projects) and be handled by the Fujian Provincial People's Government, in line with the principle of consistency between domestic and foreign investment; according to the authorization of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the examination and approval for the establishment, change and articles of association of foreign-invested enterprises shall be changed into filing management, and the Fujian Provincial People's Government shall conduct the filing and handle relevant formalities according to relevant national provisions after filing. Coordinate with relevant departments of the State in the implementation of the national security review and anti-monopoly examination of centralization of undertakings for foreign investment; consolidate the management over actual controllers of foreign investments, improve the announcement system of credit information of market subjects, implement the whole-period supervision over foreign investments, and establish and perfect overseas recovery guarantee mechanism; and, reduce prior examination and approval for projects, and promote online combined examination and approval.
Relax the foreign capital access.
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