Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

China extends free trade zone pilot programme to strategic border regions

China extends free trade zone pilot programme to strategic border regions

Underdeveloped rust belt economies also primed to benefit from creation of six new trading zones. The announcement follows last Friday’s dramatic escalation of the US-China trade war.

China will establish new pilot free trade zones (FTZs) in six provinces across the country, extending strategic trials to border regions to help improve trade ties with neighbouring countries and expand the reach of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The move, announced on Monday, also adds free trade zones in underdeveloped provinces, making them more attractive to high quality manufacturing in a bid to support their local economies and help weather the impact from the escalating trade war with the United States.

The six new FTZs are located in the landlocked province in Yunnan in the southwest; Heilongjiang, the northeastern-most province of China’s rust belt; the southern autonomous region Guangxi and the coastal provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei.

In the south, Yunnan province borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar; while Guangxi also borders Vietnam. In the north of the country, Heilongjiang borders Russia. In addition, Shandong to the east is one of China’s major gateways for trade and investment flows with South Korea and Japan.

“The FTZs will tap into respective geographical advantages to deepen trade and economic cooperation with neighbouring countries and regions,” Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said at a press conference on Monday.

“The arrangement will not only help to optimise the strategic distribution of pilot FTZs, but also serve major national strategies such as the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.

The announcement followed last Friday’s dramatic escalation of the US-China trade war, with both countries increasing tariffs and reinforcing concerns of a decoupling of the world’s two largest economies and the rising risks of global recession.

US trade tariffs had already forced many factories to relocate from the Chinese mainland to other countries in Southeast Asia, and boosted trade relations between Beijing and Moscow on energy and agriculture.

The Heilongjiang FTZ would boost trade cooperation with Russia by easing the movement of goods and people across the border and encouraging companies to look for opportunities abroad, according to plans released by the State Council, China’s cabinet, on Monday.

The Guangxi FTZ is intended to further Beijing’s goal to build a new international land-sea trade corridor with the 10 Asean countries, as well as to promote cross-border trade, logistics and labour cooperation through the maritime Silk Road to Africa and Europe.

According to the State Council, the Yunnan pilot FTZ will promote the expansion of a major international corridor connecting South Asia with Southeast Asia while the Shandong FTZ will push forward economic cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea.

The addition of Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei means China will have FTZs in all its coastal provinces.

Jiangsu and Shandong had the second and third largest provincial economies in China in the first half of the year, according to data released by provincial statistical authorities. In contrast, the gross domestic products of Guangxi, Yunnan and Heilongjiang were among the lowest of China’s 31 provincial-level regions.

Beijing hopes that establishing FTZs with distinctive missions will help the development of these remote corners of the world’s second largest economy.

“[The move is intended] to strengthen internal drivers for high-quality development through deeper reform and to show our resolve to support an open world economy via higher-level opening-up,” Wang said during Monday’s briefing.

“The overall plans include distinctive and differentiated pilot reform tasks in keeping with the strategic positioning and local features of the pilot FTZs.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the decision to launch the six new free trade zones – without disclosing their locations – in a keynote speech delivered at the G20 in Osaka on June 28, making them a critical part of Beijing’s new economic initiatives to further open up its market and provide incentives for more foreign investment.

The strategy has also been initiated by the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee, which is head by Xi, to explore new ways to deepen reform and further integrate the country into the global economy.

China launched its first pilot FTZs in Shanghai in 2013. As of today, the country has 18 free trade zones.

Earlier this month, the Chinese government doubled the size of the Shanghai free-trade zone, and announced new tax incentives and import duty exemptions for companies working in the area.

In the first half of the year, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the 12 established free trade zones across China reached nearly 70 billion yuan (US$9.8 billion), accounting for roughly 14 per cent of the overall FDI in the country and an increase of 20 per cent from the same period last year, Wang said.

The pace of expansion was much faster than the country’s overall FDI, which rose 7.3 per cent in yuan terms in the first seven months of this year, according to the data released by the Commerce Ministry earlier this month.

“Foreign investors, including those from Europe and the US, are all strongly interested in investing in [China’s] free trade zones,” Wang said. “We believe the six newly approved free trade zones will also become hot destinations for foreign investment.”

Wang refused to answer questions about Friday’s escalation of the US-China trade conflict either during or after the press conference on Monday.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×