Services sector in Beijing moves into fast lane of reform

Beijing officials talked of the "remarkable results" achieved by reforms to the services sector at the 2017 China International Fair for Investment and Trade, or CIFIT, being held in Xiamen in Fujian province.

Billed as China's largest international trade and event expo, CIFIT runs from Sept 18-21 and is themed on Introducing FDI, or foreign direct-investment, and "Going Global".

Shen Jinsheng, deputy director of Beijing Commission of Commerce, said the services sector in Beijing had opened wider to the outside world and achieved "remarkable result".

This, he said, had helped construct a "high-grade, precise and advanced economy in Beijing".

Beijing was approved as China's first demonstration zone for further opening-up the services industry in 2015.

The city has released 141 reform projects since 2015.

These have focused on scientific technology, finance, medical health, the internet and information and 90 percent of the projects were finished in two years.

According to official statistics, the services sector accounted for 80.3 percent of Beijing's GDP in 2016, an increase of 2.4 percentage points compared to 2014.

More pronounced was the utilization of foreign capital in the services industry, which grew by 55 percent, and total exports and imports in services trading increased by 63 percent during the same period.

"Deepening the opening-up of the services industry in Beijing also brings new opportunities," said Shen.

A total of 66 projects were announced at the event, involving foreign investment deals in China and Chinese companies investing overseas.

These include investments in technological parks and cultural and creative zones.

Some of them are currently under construction and some of them have completed construction and are starting to look for business partners, according to Yang Wenhui, director of the events department at the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau.

The projects attracted the attention of representatives from the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), who attended the expo.

They are hoping to have more communications and cooperation with Beijing in the future.

Beijing has launched new polices to make it easier for international companies to do business in China.

Some 75 reform tasks cover nine sectors. The changes include a foreign professionals incentive mechanism, reforms to foreign investment management, changes to help services trade and a market access management system.

For example, professionals in technology services and other industries are now finding it easier to apply for permanent residency.

That's thanks to a simplified approval process that reduces the processing time by half, down to 90 working days.

"With the support of policies, Beijing's services industry is attracting more professionals from around the world to join in the effort to construct an inclusive, advanced and internationalized capital (city)," Shen said.

One of the pilot demonstration areas, in Beijing's Shunyi district, has finished 36 projects over the past two years, according to Chu Junwei, deputy chief of Shunyi district in Beijing.

Focused on the Belt and Road Initiative and the Beijing-Tianjian-Hebei integration strategy, the Shunyi district is promoting the aviation, culture, technology and other industries in a further opening-up, Chu said.

"As an aviation industry center and a modern manufacturing base, Shunyi district has attracted more than 400 aviation companies," he added.

caoyingying@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/19/2017 page18)