This plan has been formulated to accelerate the development of a pilot zone for green, low-carbon, and high-quality development, and to further strengthen efforts to plan and promote the deepening of reforms and expansion of opening-up in the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Shandong Pilot Free Trade Zone).

I. General Requirements

(1) Guiding Principles. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and earnestly carry out General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions and requirements regarding Shandong’s work. Grounded in the new stage of development, we will implement the new development philosophy and build a new development paradigm. We will take the lead in implementing the strategy to elevate the Free Trade Pilot Zone, with institutional innovation as the core and deepening supply-side structural reform as the main thread. Focusing on the implementation of high-level opening-up,align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, leverage our comparative advantages, enhance the synergistic effects of the domestic and international markets and resources, carry out in-depth differentiated explorations, promote the open development of advantageous and distinctive industries, facilitate the transformation of growth drivers, empower Shandong’s green, low-carbon, and high-quality development, better serve the creation of a new局面 in building a strong province of socialist modernization in the new era, and build the Shandong Pilot Free Trade Zone into a free trade zone with international influence and competitiveness.

(2) Strategic Positioning. Fully leverage the role of the Pilot Free Trade Zone as a new high ground for reform and opening-up in the new era; comprehensively enhance Shandong’s leading role in high-level opening-up; establish a more liberal and open policy and institutional framework; and build a pioneering zone for high-level institutional opening-up.Fully leverage the role of the Pilot Free Trade Zone in institutional innovation to accelerate the resolution of structural and institutional contradictions and issues constraining the open development of industries, foster more competitive industrial clusters, and build a modern industrial development hub. Fully leverage the Pilot Free Trade Zone’s role in pioneering and testing new approaches to deeply tap the development potential of the “Blue Engine,” strengthen the development and utilization of marine resources, improve marine governance and ecological protection, deepen marine openness and cooperation, enhance the overall effectiveness of marine development, and form a vibrant zone for an innovative marine economy.Fully leverage the radiating and driving role of the pilot free trade zone to advance the construction of the Yellow River Basin Pilot Free Trade Zone Alliance, carry out all-round collaborative cooperation, and build a leading zone for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. Fully leverage the role of the pilot free trade zone as a platform for opening up to the outside world, focusing primarily on Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN to promote connectivity in infrastructure, market integration, trade facilitation, and standard harmonization; strengthen the coordination and complementarity of industrial and supply chains; accelerate the high-quality implementation of RCEP rules; and build a diverse and stable RCEP economic and trade cooperation demonstration zone.

(3) Functional Division. The Jinan Zone will focus on healthcare and elderly care, the digital economy, and industrial finance. Aligned with the strategic goal of building a strong provincial capital in the new era of socialist modernization, it will strive to create an internationally competitive biopharmaceutical industry cluster, a digital economy innovation demonstration zone, and a major gateway for opening up to the outside world in the Yellow River Basin.The Qingdao Zone will focus on sectors such as integrated shipping, trade, and finance; integrated circuits; and genetic technology. Centered on the strategic goal of building a modern international metropolis, it will strive to create an international shipping hub for Northeast Asia, a core area for an innovative city, and a cluster for future industries. The Yantai Zone will focus on sectors such as modern marine industries, high-end equipment manufacturing, and next-generation information technology. Centered on the strategic goal of building a modern international coastal city, it will strive to create a demonstration zone for a marine power province, a model area for green and low-carbon development, and a major national base for high-end equipment manufacturing.

The three zones in Jinan, Qingdao, and Yantai will leverage their respective distinctive strengths to accelerate the establishment of a high-level policy and institutional framework for openness, build industrial clusters with international influence, deeply integrate with the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, further promote the innovative development of the marine economy, and lead in deepening economic and trade cooperation under the RCEP.Strengthen coordinated development with surrounding regions, special functional zones, and various open platforms; accelerate the construction of the Free Trade Pilot Zone-Linked Innovation Zone; incorporate the administrative districts where each Free Trade Pilot Zone is located into the scope of the Linked Innovation Zone; allow pilot tasks to be advanced simultaneously within the Linked Innovation Zone; and form a new development pattern of “Free Trade Pilot Zone + Linked Innovation Zone” across the province.

(IV) Development Goals. With institutional innovation as the core and replicability and scalability as fundamental requirements, we will fully implement all national requirements regarding the construction of the Shandong Pilot Free Trade Zone.By 2025, a system of institutions compatible with the strategic positioning and the development of an open economy will be basically established. A market-oriented, rule-of-law-based, and international business environment will be formed. The role of serving national strategies will be further highlighted, a high-level open pattern will be further established, and the open economy will advance to broader fields and higher levels. Industrial capabilities will be further enhanced, striving to build a high-standard, high-quality free trade zone characterized by greater convenience in trade and investment, more comprehensive financial services, safer and more efficient regulation, and a more prominent radiating and driving effect.

II. Building a Pioneer Zone for High-Level Institutional Opening-up

(1) Implement high-standard policies for trade liberalization and facilitation. Expand the functions of the “Single Window” for international trade, promote coordination across all operational stages—including vessel entry and exit, customs inspection, and cargo release—and achieve visualization of the entire customs clearance process. Deepen the localized innovation and application of the “Shipping-Trade-Finance” platform. Further innovate the “advance machine inspection + direct loading upon arrival” model for export goods and the “ship-to-rail direct transfer” model for imported bulk cargo.Seek to incorporate Phase III of the Qingdao Port automated terminal and its supporting bonded logistics zone into the scope of the Qingdao Qianwan Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Promote precise matching of supply and demand for cross-border services in fields such as telemedicine, online education, transportation, and architectural design. Advance the development of cross-border delivery business models and promote the export of services such as software R&D, call centers, and data outsourcing. Explore the formulation of a standard system for cultural product exports. Accelerate the development of new forms of offshore international trade and explore innovations in authenticity management for offshore resale transactions.Launch new forms of cross-border barter trade and build supporting service platforms. Establish a trade ecosystem for commodities featuring “digital warehousing + digital trading + digital finance.” Enhance the service capabilities of existing commodity trading venues, support the development of commodity trading activities that bridge the gap between spot and futures markets, seek support to allow non-residents to participate in trading in accordance with regulations, and encourage cross-border RMB settlement. Deepen the “bonded + new retail” reform in cross-border e-commerce and promote the application of the “bonded warehousing + live streaming” model.Promote the standardized development of overseas warehouses, strengthen their barter verification and e-commerce consolidation and distribution functions, and streamline procedures for unsold goods and returns. Encourage the development of new business models integrating domestic and international trade, and implement inclusive and prudent regulation. Promote the alignment of domestic and international trade standards and certification, and encourage third-party conformity assessment bodies to provide one-stop services.

(2) Implement high-level policies for investment liberalization and facilitation. Improve rules and regulations for fair competition to ensure that market entities of all ownership types enjoy equal treatment in terms of access to factors of production, market entry permits, and business operations. Integrate joint completion acceptance and real estate registration processes, strengthen coordinated services for municipal utilities such as water, electricity, gas, heating, and telecommunications, and refine the new “one-stop” model for handling completion and production commencement.Promote “single-permit” processing for construction project planning permits and civil air defense project permits, and implement convenience measures such as the notification-and-commitment system for construction permits and phased processing. Implement “seamless renewal” for business licenses. Improve the information reporting system for foreign investment and cooperation, and refine the security risk prevention and control system for overseas enterprises, projects, and personnel.

(3) Implement financial policies centered on the free and convenient flow of cross-border funds. Deepen the pilot program for a unified RMB and foreign currency bank account system.We will strive to allow foreign-invested enterprises to use RMB proceeds from capital account transactions for reinvestment within China within the scope of business approved by relevant national authorities, without requiring the investee enterprise to open a dedicated RMB capital deposit account. We will also strive to allow overseas investors to use RMB profits earned within China for reinvestment, enabling the direct transfer of RMB funds from the account of the profit-distributing enterprise to the account of the investee enterprise or the equity transferor, without the need to open a dedicated RMB reinvestment deposit account; the investee enterprise is also not required to open a dedicated RMB capital deposit account.Strive to ensure that when overseas investors use RMB to acquire domestic enterprises to establish foreign-invested enterprises, or use RMB to pay equity transfer consideration to Chinese shareholders of domestic foreign-invested enterprises, the relevant Chinese shareholders are not required to open dedicated RMB merger and acquisition deposit accounts or dedicated RMB equity transfer deposit accounts. Explore the use of digital RMB payments in international trade, commodity trading, shipping, and logistics.

(4) Implement policies for free and convenient personnel management. Establish a talent evaluation system oriented toward innovation, value, capability, and contribution.Explore the establishment of a catalog of recognized foreign professional qualifications, allowing professionals holding such qualifications to practice conveniently, with their overseas work experience recognized as equivalent to domestic work experience. Explore providing entry-exit green channels for personnel involved in major foreign investment cooperation projects, and allow the pilot zones to issue recommendation opinions for eligible high-end foreign talent to apply for the “Foreigner Permanent Residence Identity Card.” Improve standards for the construction of international talent communities to provide guidance for creating a favorable talent service environment.

(5) Implement policies for free and convenient transportation. Seek to lower the entry thresholds for international vessel registration in the pilot free trade zone and promote the implementation of a new mechanism for the re-registration of seagoing vessels that allows for “certificate issuance without interrupting the voyage.” Under the premise of effective supervision and controllable risks, implement the port-of-departure tax refund policy with Qingdao Port serving as the port of departure. Seek, at an appropriate time, to include the China-Europe Railway Express (Qilu) in the pilot program for China-Europe Safe and Smart Trade Routes.

(6) Promote the secure and orderly flow of data. Establish and implement a comprehensive data security management system covering data security management certification, security assessments for data cross-border transfers, reviews of data circulation and backup, and risk assessments for data transactions. Accelerate the construction of a data element circulation service platform to facilitate the mining and utilization of data resources, the certification of data asset governance, and the circulation of data element value. Effectively carry out the pilot program for direct delivery of national government data to the grassroots level and create a series of distinctive data application scenarios.

III. Building Modern Industrial Development Clusters

(7) Promote innovative development across the entire medical, elderly care, and health industry chain. Support multi-center clinical trials for biopharmaceutical products such as gene therapy and cell therapy, and implement mutual recognition of ethics review results. Build public service platforms for the research and development of food, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and gene technology, providing full-chain services including R&D, analytical testing, drug evaluation, and product registration. Explore the formulation of relevant standard systems and conduct pilot projects for clinical translation applications—such as stem cell therapy and bio-artificial livers—under conditions where risks are controllable.Medical device manufacturers that have obtained product registration certificates in other provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities), and whose products align with national or provincial industry development plans, will be granted priority in inspection, review, verification, and approval when relocating to this province with their registered products. Promote the open sharing of medical data and improve data sharing and exchange standards between commercial insurance and medical departments. Establish and improve evaluation methods and technical standards for the safety and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine that are tailored to its unique characteristics.

(8) Promote innovative development across the entire industrial chain of high-end equipment manufacturing. Explore the import and remanufacturing of high-value-added large-scale integrated equipment and key components, such as optoelectronic products, integrated circuits, engines, and ships. Support the coordinated development of bonded maintenance services both within and outside the zones. Encourage enterprises to conduct bonded maintenance of their own domestically produced products within the pilot free trade zones and outside comprehensive bonded zones, and strive to expand the scope of the bonded maintenance product catalog.Support enterprises in establishing overseas warehouses to handle returns and exchanges for overseas customers. Exempt used mechanical and electrical products that are imported for repair and subsequently re-exported from pre-shipment inspection. Establish a green channel for the import and export of high-end products such as key equipment, components, and critical materials; manage imported and exported products based on corporate creditworthiness; and streamline customs clearance and inspection procedures. Seek to launch pilot programs for positive lists of cross-border scientific research materials in sectors such as automobiles and electronics.Reform the application and implementation processes for intelligent technology upgrade projects in the manufacturing sector. Explore the establishment of a talent evaluation and career development system for service-oriented manufacturing, and improve the industrial ecosystem for smart manufacturing.

(9) Promote innovative development across the entire green and low-carbon industrial chain. Explore the establishment of carbon emission standards and carbon assessment systems, and promote the certification of low-carbon products. Encourage enterprises to improve carbon footprint accounting and actively participate in carbon emissions trading. Explore mechanisms for realizing the value of ecological products and carbon sink compensation. Innovate green finance development models, promote carbon financing and carbon asset management services, and develop business innovations such as green insurance, green financial leasing, and carbon performance-linked loans, while promoting the securitization of green assets.Accelerate the advancement of climate finance pilot programs. Establish a green supply chain management system to promote the green transformation and upgrading of industries. Encourage the import of technologies and services related to energy conservation, carbon reduction, and environmental protection, and advance international cooperation on green and low-carbon technologies. Build specialized green and low-carbon incubators, improve market service systems, and promote the commercial application and large-scale dissemination of green technological achievements. Improve the green indicator system and conduct green credit rating assessments. Establish a coordinated response mechanism among relevant departments regarding carbon tariffs and explore methods for calculating carbon tariffs.

(10) Enhance the capacity of science and technology innovation to empower industrial development. Conduct market-oriented evaluations of scientific and technological achievements, establish diversified pricing methods for market transactions of such achievements, and explore mechanisms to integrate technology transactions with capital markets. Fully implement the technology manager system to facilitate the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements.Innovatively establish enterprise-oriented operational mechanisms for new state-owned R&D institutions and optimize decision-making processes for major matters. Build an online notary platform for the protection of trade secrets and innovate new models for “preemptive protection” of intellectual property. Establish a system for the protection of foreign-related intellectual property, explore the formulation of guidelines for the cross-border protection of trade secrets, set up joint working stations with overseas and Chinese experts, and establish mechanisms for addressing intellectual property disputes. Explore the application of the patent open licensing system and implement “one-to-many” open licensing for small and medium-sized enterprises.

(11) Improve the financial empowerment system for industrial development. Support industrial parks in developing real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the infrastructure sector to effectively revitalize existing assets. Establish a risk compensation fund for intellectual property pledge financing to promote the evidence preservation, valuation, pledge financing, and securitization of data-related intellectual property. Promote the development of standard warehouse receipt pledge financing. Encourage the establishment of specialized (or specialized) financial institutions for science and technology innovation. Handle notarial services for the enforcement of financial claims in accordance with laws and regulations.

(12) Enhance the capacity for digital empowerment of industrial development. Relying on the industrial internet, develop new models such as shared factories, collaborative manufacturing, and flexible production. Encourage enterprises to participate in the construction of secondary nodes for industrial internet identifier resolution and expand applications in fields such as equipment manufacturing, smart home appliances, and rubber tires. Support the development of public data operation agencies and promote the diversified development of industrial ecosystems through public data. Accelerate the development of the big data industry and explore new models of “integrated” comprehensive services covering data, platforms, algorithms, and security.Foster the development of new business models such as data annotation, data cleansing, and data exchange. Explore the establishment of a tiered and categorized evaluation system for digital enterprises.

IV. Creating a Dynamic Zone for an Innovative Marine Economy

(13) Optimize and upgrade traditional marine industries. Deepen the China-South Korea bilateral cooperation mechanism on marine seed industries and promote transnational cooperation on the joint restoration and conservation of marine biological resources. Seek to conduct marine gene editing and marine fish breeding trials. Improve the mechanism for introducing marine germplasm resources, expand the functions of import transit bases, and deepen coordinated development with Hainan’s aquatic seed industry. Strengthen intellectual property protection for the aquatic seed industry and establish a cross-regional, full-category DNA fingerprint database for aquatic germplasm resources.Explore new development models for integrated marine ranch complexes that combine primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, and promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional marine fisheries toward informatization and intelligentization. Establish and improve mechanisms for the research and development, rights confirmation, financing, credit enhancement, and promotion of deep-sea ecological ranches, guiding and encouraging active participation by social capital in their construction. Integrate domestic and international marine engineering resources to enhance the capacity to serve domestic marine oil and gas development and construction, and strive to enable enterprises to provide marine engineering services such as offshore oil and gas drilling within the country.

(14) Develop emerging marine industries. Establish a new “sea-demand, land-supply” mechanism that bridges marine needs with terrestrial R&D, encouraging marine-related enterprises to articulate their needs and research institutions to tackle these challenges through competitive projects.Accelerate the construction of research and production bases for the “Blue Medicine Treasury” to advance the development of new marine pharmaceuticals. Guide enterprises to participate in and lead the formulation and revision of industry standards and regulations in fields such as marine pharmaceuticals and new biomaterials, thereby enhancing their voice and influence in relevant domestic and international sectors. Seize the opportunity presented by the large-scale development of offshore wind power to foster the clustering of upstream and downstream industries—including equipment manufacturing, construction and installation, and operation and maintenance—and drive the expansion of offshore wind power into deep-sea and far-sea areas.

(15) Accelerate the development of modern marine service industries. Accelerate the development of high-end shipping industries such as ship trading, shipping finance, and shipping arbitration; expand the scale of ship trading; and explore the development of shipping derivatives trading. Enhance comprehensive shipping service functions; establish a public service platform for bonded ship supply; promote the regularization of ship fuel supply at offshore anchorages; and optimize the statistical and regulatory system for ship supply.Innovate and develop insurance products covering aquaculture seed stock, catastrophic risk prevention, and marine product pricing. Build a smart marine management demonstration platform, improve the joint training mechanism for maritime and commercial law professionals, and establish and improve the legal service system for marine affairs.

(16) Improve the marine governance and protection system. Promote standardized reforms in the real estate registration of maritime area usage rights and implement integrated registration of maritime areas and offshore structures and facilities. Explore the implementation of three-dimensional comprehensive development and utilization of maritime areas.Refine the “Model Marine Area” development model by integrating factors such as investment intensity, aquaculture species, stocking density, and risk mitigation with marine area usage. Establish platforms such as the Yellow and Bohai Seas Blue Carbon Monitoring, Assessment, and Research Center; improve systems for blue carbon finance, dynamic monitoring, carbon sequestration, and industrial ecosystems; and accelerate the development of the blue carbon economy. Advance the construction of an intelligent labeling system for marine economic entities and improve the statistical survey system for the marine economy in pilot free trade zones.

(17) Strengthen support for marine science and technology innovation.Innovate mechanisms for marine science and technology R&D, and explore collaborative research models among core marine research units and interdisciplinary R&D clusters. Promote the open sharing of marine science and technology resources, including marine laboratories, large-scale instruments and equipment, and technology platforms. Improve the mechanisms of the International Marine Genomics Consortium and establish new models for the research and industrial application of marine biological germplasm and genetic resources. Promote the establishment of the “Decade of the Ocean” International Cooperation Center, explore coordination and service mechanisms compliant with international operational rules, and build a high-quality East Asian marine cooperation platform.

V. Building a Leading Zone for Ecological Conservation and High-Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin

(18) Improve cooperation mechanisms. Strengthen the alliance mechanism among Free Trade Pilot Zones in the Yellow River Basin to enhance the coordinated advancement of institutional innovation and the replication and promotion of innovative achievements. Explore a cross-regional model for the universal acceptance and redemption of “mass entrepreneurship and innovation vouchers,” promote joint research on key generic technologies, and deepen cross-regional cooperation in scientific and technological innovation.Enhance the functionality of cross-regional online service platforms to facilitate the “interprovincial processing” of more high-frequency government services. Establish a new credit-based regulatory mechanism and implement a cross-regional joint credit punishment system in key sectors, featuring mutual recognition of consequences for dishonest behavior, information sharing, and interoperability of disciplinary measures. Advance integrated collaboration on intellectual property protection in the Yellow River Basin to enhance coordinated protection capabilities. Establish cost-sharing and benefit-sharing mechanisms for industrial park cooperation to strengthen cross-regional collaboration.

(19) Deepen industrial cooperation. Strengthen industrial cooperation in the Yellow River Basin regarding wine, grain and oil, and germplasm resources, and promote the introduction of demonstration projects and the development and construction of full industrial chains. Establish a comprehensive service system for the export of cultural products that integrates the exploration of Yellow River cultural IP, supply chain support, brand incubation, overseas promotion, and intellectual property protection.Expand overseas distribution channels for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products from Shandong, Guangdong, and Macao, and promote the joint overseas expansion of more TCM products from the Yellow River Basin. Organize a high-level Cross-Border E-Commerce Expo for the Yellow River Basin to create a platform for the overseas expansion of cross-border e-commerce in the region. Encourage strategic emerging industries, such as new materials, to expand collaborative innovation application scenarios within the Yellow River Basin.

(20) Strengthen trade and logistics connectivity. Improve sea-rail, river-sea, and container “multimodal transport” models, and deepen the “four-port linkage” development of sea, river, land, and air ports. Enhance collaborative innovation in areas such as “smart customs” and integrated logistics supervision, and implement regional customs clearance facilitation reforms such as the “One-Port-Access” initiative in the Yellow River Basin.

(21) Strengthen coordinated development with functional zones within the province. Enhance innovative collaboration with comprehensive bonded zones, economic and technological development zones, and high-tech development zones, and improve mechanisms for institutional synergy and policy sharing. Promote open collaboration with the China-South Korea FTA Local Economic Cooperation Demonstration Zone and the China-Japan (Qingdao) Local Development Cooperation Demonstration Zone, and explore new models where proactive opening-up and agreement-based opening-up mutually reinforce each other.Strengthen industrial linkages with the Jinan New and Old Growth Drivers Transition Pilot Zone, and encourage in-depth cooperation in areas such as platforms, industries, projects, and talent. Explore regulatory coordination with the China-EU (Jinan) Green Manufacturing Industrial Park, and promote pioneering breakthroughs in investment and trade, production-oriented services, cross-border capital flows, and green and low-carbon development.

VI. Building a Diverse and Stable RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone

(22) Promote the improvement of the hub functions of the East-West Golden Corridor. Strengthen cooperation with major ports in Japan and South Korea on the development and establishment of international liner routes. Seek to delegate the authority to grant permits for duty-free bunkering of international vessels, allowing duty-free bunkering enterprises within the zone to conduct vessel fuel supply operations throughout the province. Deepen the “Zone-Customs-Port-Rail” linkage mechanism and explore expanding the range of eligible categories for duty-free blending and mixing of mineral products.Deepen the “single-document” reform for multimodal transport, explore granting transport documents the function of title deeds, and establish a new mechanism for land-based trade financing featuring multi-party coordination and risk sharing. Promote the construction of a super cargo terminal for air logistics and explore innovative intermodal logistics models. Support the Comprehensive Bonded Zone in innovating container consolidation models for China-Europe freight trains and promote integrated transport and trade services. Innovate the model for the direct transfer of imported and exported goods between bonded and non-bonded status within the Comprehensive Bonded Zone.

(23) Deepen the integration of industrial and supply chains with Japan and South Korea. Focusing on automotive parts, chemicals, and electronic components, improve mechanisms for the exchange and flow of intermediate goods with Japan and South Korea. Cooperate with institutions and enterprises in Japan and South Korea to establish dedicated zones for the consumption of goods and services from China, Japan, and South Korea, and explore new mechanisms for integrating domestic and international consumption.Strengthen full-chain cooperation with Japan and South Korea in fields such as integrated circuits, genetic technology, smart home appliances, and offshore engineering equipment; expand specialized upstream supply chain services such as collaborative R&D and solutions; and extend value-added downstream supply chain services such as remote diagnostics, maintenance and repair, and consumer credit. Promote international standards exchanges with Japan and South Korea to facilitate the global expansion of Shandong’s technologies, standards, services, and brands. Encourage enterprises and institutions from China, Japan, and South Korea to jointly develop third-party markets through measures such as establishing development funds.

(24) Deepen trade facilitation cooperation with Japan and South Korea. Promote the construction of the RCEP Customs Supervision and Service Innovation Pilot Base to explore innovations in customs supervision and services. Seek to launch pilot programs for the cross-border e-commerce retail import of medicines and medical devices.Promote the advance testing and certification of food and agricultural products for Japan and South Korea. Establish a fast-track channel for cross-border cold-chain logistics among China, Japan, and South Korea, and support qualified ports in implementing a 6-hour clearance convenience measure—subject to meeting necessary conditions—for RCEP-origin perishable goods and express shipments that arrive at customs supervision areas and have fully submitted relevant information. Establish a “green channel” for addressing technical trade barriers with Japan and South Korea, and create a one-stop service platform for “testing, certification, and customs clearance.”Improve international trade settlement models such as “import letters of credit plus one account for multiple currencies” to help enterprises expand into RCEP markets.

(25) Accelerate the high-quality implementation of RCEP economic and trade rules. Deepen the application of RCEP intellectual property rules, improve intellectual property enforcement procedures, and advance reforms in the field of intellectual property adjudication. Improve intellectual property protection systems in digital environments involving big data, artificial intelligence, mobile internet, and biogenetics. Explore the establishment of intellectual property protection rules for cross-border e-commerce, and establish a complaint handling mechanism that effectively utilizes patent evaluation reports to expedite the resolution of infringement claims involving utility model and design patents.Promote the application of RCEP back-to-back certificates of origin and rules of origin cumulation, and foster the development of business models such as transshipment trade, logistics splitting, and packaging and warehousing. Explore the establishment of a mechanism for the identification and application of laws of RCEP member states. Establish and improve mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of international commercial disputes, innovate cooperation models between courts and organizations such as international commercial arbitration and mediation bodies, and promote the efficient integration of mediation-plus-arbitration, mediation-plus-litigation, and domestic mediation-plus-cross-border mediation.

VII. Safeguard Mechanisms

Uphold and strengthen the Party’s leadership over reform and opening-up, ensuring that the Party’s leadership is integrated throughout the entire process of building the pilot free trade zones. Firmly uphold the holistic national security outlook, strengthen bottom-line thinking and risk awareness, and resolutely safeguard against the occurrence of regional systemic risks. Strengthen organizational implementation and effectively interpret and publicize reform and innovation policies and measures. Conduct timely evaluations and summaries to accelerate the formation of systematic reform experiences for replication and promotion across the province.All departments must provide strong support, promptly formulate measures to implement tasks, and strengthen guidance and services. For reform and innovation matters involving central government authority, actively seek policy support from the State Council or relevant national ministries and commissions, and, to the greatest extent possible, grant each zone greater administrative authority for autonomous development, reform, and innovation. The cities where the pilot free trade zones are located must provide even greater support for the zones to deepen reform and innovation and take the lead in implementing all pilot tasks.Each sub-zone should formulate annual work plans based on local conditions, effectively assume the economic and social management authorities delegated by provincial and municipal governments, and ensure that delegated matters are properly received, effectively managed, and flexibly utilized, striving to create a first-class business environment. Strengthen the dissemination and implementation of plans, improve the assessment and evaluation mechanisms, and ensure the smooth implementation of all tasks.