China’s State Council has issued a strategic directive titled “Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Service Trade through High-level Opening up,” aiming to bolster the service trade sector as a pivotal component of the country’s broader economic opening and a catalyst for foreign trade growth. The policy outlines the need for a robust negative list management system for cross-border service trade, with an emphasis on enhanced oversight of critical sectors and a streamlined approach to monitoring the cross-border movement of capital, technology, personnel, and data.
The initiative is set to leverage the influence of open platforms, including pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port, to spearhead a nationwide, tiered opening up of service trade. Compliance with international economic and trade standards, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is highlighted as a key to elevating and standardizing service trade practices.
The document also underscores the importance of facilitating the mobility of managerial and technical personnel from foreign enterprises, along with their families, by streamlining visa and residence permit procedures. It envisions a supportive environment for foreign high-level talent and their research assistants, enabling them to engage in various economic activities within China. Additionally, the government is poised to expand recognition of overseas vocational qualifications and enhance cross-border capital flow management, with a particular focus on increasing the cross-border use of the RMB in service trade.
In the realm of biomedicine, the document calls for the acceleration of high-end service outsourcing development, particularly in biopharmaceutical R&D outsourcing, to stimulate employment for key demographics such as recent college graduates. There is a strong push for the healthy growth of traditional Chinese medicine services and the integration of “Internet plus” in this sector. The government also plans to introduce special policies to bolster the international competitiveness of biomedicine manufacturing enterprises, revise the encouraged import service catalog to meet the upgraded consumption needs of residents, and promote the importation of high-quality lifestyle services, including healthcare. – Flcube.com
