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E-mail China.org.cn, September 25, 2024
Speakers:
Mr. Li Chunlin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)
Mr. Li Fei, vice minister of commerce
Mr. Ren Duanping, director general of the Business Registration Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR)
Mr. Wang Shancheng, director general of the Department of Comprehensive System Reform of the NDRC
Chairperson:
Ms. Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
Aug. 30, 2024
Xing Huina:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this briefing held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). The Opinions on Refining the National Market Access System issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council has been publicly released. Today, we have invited Mr. Li Chunlin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and Mr. Li Fei, vice minister of commerce, to introduce the relevant information of the opinions and answer your questions. Also attending today's press conference are Mr. Ren Duanping, director general of the Business Registration Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and Mr. Wang Shancheng, director general of the Department of Comprehensive System Reform of the NDRC.
Now, I will give the floor to Mr. Li for his introduction.
Li Chunlin:
Good morning. Thank you very much for your long-term interest in and support for the development and reform work. I am also very pleased to have this opportunity to speak with you today on refining the national market access system.
As an important document for implementing the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council recently issued the Opinions on Refining the National Market Access System, the full text of which was released to the public on Aug. 21. Now, I will briefly introduce the background, significance and main content of the opinions.
Market access is a prerequisite for business entities to participate in economic activities. Implementing a unified market access system is a major decision and deployment made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee proposed the implementation of a unified market access system, the 19th CPC National Congress clearly stated the need to implement a negative list system across the board for market access, and the 20th CPC National Congress further identified the market access system as one of the basic systems of the market economy. In recent years, the NDRC, together with the Ministry of Commerce, the SAMR, and other relevant departments, has resolutely implemented the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, steadily promoting the development of the market access system. In 2018, the nationwide unified negative list for market access was issued, making China the first major economy to truly establish such a system. Four versions of the list have been released, with the number of items reduced from 151 in the 2018 version to 117 in the 2022 version, firmly establishing the "one list nationwide" management model for market access. Efforts have been made to further relax market access restrictions, with special measures implemented in Hainan, Shenzhen, the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin, and Nansha in Guangzhou. A series of substantial reform measures have been introduced in areas such as commercial aerospace, international trading centers for electronic components and integrated circuits, unmanned systems in sea, land and air, and the modern seed industry. Market access efficiency evaluations have been carried out to promote reforms and improve the quality and efficiency of access services, ensuring the implementation of the market access system. Overall, the current market access system framework has been accelerated, supporting systems have been gradually improved, market access barriers have been effectively broken, and market dynamism and vitality have been further stimulated. This provides strong support for building a high-standard market system, a unified national market, and a high-standard socialist market economy.
As China enters a stage of high-quality development, higher requirements have been put forward for building a more refined market access system. The third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee clearly required "refining the market access system to ensure greater accessibility for new forms of business and new sectors" and "doing more to remove barriers to market access." The opinions implement the guiding principles of the third plenary session, timely elevating the reform achievements of the market access-related systems and mechanisms to institutional arrangements, attracting widespread attention from society. This is also the first policy document issued at the central level specifically on improving the development of the market access system, which has important guiding significance.
The full text of the opinions consists of 10 articles, around 2,300 words, and is concise but rich in content. It revolves around "establishing an open, transparent, standardized and orderly market access system that fosters fair competition, clear rights and responsibilities, and robust oversight," making the latest deployments in aspects such as improving the management model of the negative list for market access, scientifically determining market access rules, setting reasonable market prohibition and permission access items, clarifying the adjustment procedures for market access management measures, strengthening the coordination of domestic and foreign investment access policies, orderly relaxing restrictions on access to the service industry, optimizing the market access environment for new business forms and new fields, expanding pilot programs for market access relaxation, ensuring the implementation of the market access system and enhancing organizational implementation. There are four highlights in the opinions:
First, we will continue improving list management to clarify the boundaries of government roles. The negative list mechanism serves as a critical tool for enhancing the market access system. It's essential to clearly define the government's role in market access, fully leverage the market's decisive role in resource allocation, and solidify these principles into a systematic framework. This approach expedites the shift from pre-approval to ongoing and post-event supervision. The opinions reinforce support for the "one list nationwide" model, addressing access rules, the determination of access items, and the procedures for adjusting access measures. This unified approach ensures the list's consistency, standardization, and authority, promoting more regulated market access management and better ensuring lawful and equal market entry for all business entities.
Second, we'll continue easing access restrictions to invigorate market potential and vitality. Market access is the first gateway to economic activity, and it's essential to progressively loosen these restrictions to facilitate the smooth flow of resources and foster a broader market space. We will implement a policy of easier entry coupled with strict oversight, opening up competitive sectors and significantly reducing access barriers for businesses. Furthermore, we will systematically ease access restrictions in the service sector. In particular, we will gradually cancel restrictions in those service industries that do not involve national security or social stability concerns, where robust market competition can improve the quality of supply.
Third, we will continue optimizing the market access environment and enhancing market entry efficiency. Market access is crucial for translating scientific and technological advances into productivity. We need to take a forward-looking approach in establishing a market access framework for new business models and sectors to better support the development of new quality productive forces. For the first time, the opinions target 10 emerging fields, including deep-water exploration, aerospace, aviation, life sciences, new energy, and artificial intelligence. This initiative encompasses guiding principles, platform support, the application and commercialization of research outcomes, and global research collaboration. Together, these efforts aim to tackle bottlenecks inhibiting the profound transformation and upgrading of our industrial systems, promoting innovative allocation of production factors and continuously boosting market access efficiency.
Fourth, we will continue expanding pilot programs for market access and dismantling implicit barriers to entry. It's vital to leverage reform trials and employ special policy tools to break down entry barriers in certain sectors and areas. The opinions require that we make deployments focusing on key areas and key productive forces in strategic emerging industries and future industries. We will use regulations, policies, technical standards, testing and certification, and data systems to remove various entry barriers, promoting the adoption of new technologies and products. Priority regions will be selected for market access trials, with phased special measures to ease access.
Moving forward, the NDRC, in collaboration with relevant departments, will implement the opinions and strengthen overall coordination. We will continue to refine the market access system, further optimize the access environment, and bolster development expectations. Our goal is to rapidly establish a new paradigm featuring "standard-driven access, list-based access, scenario-enhanced access, pilot-expanded access and regulation-backed access."
That concludes my introduction. Now, my colleagues and I are ready to answer questions. Thank you!
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