In Beijing, two zones boost development

Beijing has completed more than 90 percent of the reform and innovation tasks related to its "two zones" concept, a senior official of the city said on Thursday.

The two zones are a demonstration zone for the service industry in Beijing, which was approved by the State Council in 2015, and a free trade zone, which was approved by the central government in September 2020.

The zones offer preferential policies for both foreign and domestic investors in sectors such as science, culture, entertainment, finance, tourism and healthcare.

Liu Meiying, spokeswoman for the city's commerce bureau and leading group office for the two zones work, said at a news conference on Thursday, that the city government will continue to promote reform and will strengthen coordination this year.

The two zones' key areas support the full opening-up of Beijing's service sector, Liu said.

"We have supported the city's international scientific innovation center's construction by carrying out preferential policies for companies," Liu said. "For instance, the approval process for high-tech companies in key fields has been cut by 80 percent in terms of time and requirements."

The two zones' policies have also accelerated the city's construction of the international consumption center, a major target of the city for 2025.

Beijing has carried out a pilot policy involving cross-border e-commerce sales of pharmaceutical products that resulted in the number of pilot drug varieties rising to 66, as well as more than 1.2 million completed orders.

Last year, Beijing attracted more than 900 "first stores" to settle in the capital — a reference to a brand's first brick-and-mortar outlet in the city. Of those, 134 first stores are international brands. They account for 15 percent of the newly settled first stores in the city in 2021.