Beijing's "Two Zones" construction clarifies over 160 tasks; "New Measures" expand the "New Flow" of opening up to the outside world

China News Service, Beijing, March 30 (Reporter Lü Shaowei) The reporter learned today from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce that the Office of the “Two Zones” (the working leadership group offices for the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the National Comprehensive Demonstration Area for Expanding Opening-Up in the Service Sector) has recently issued the “2026 Key Points for the Construction Work of the ‘Two Zones’” (hereinafter referred to as the “Key Points”). The “Key Points” make arrangements for the construction work of the “Two Zones” in 2026, specifying five areas and more than 160 tasks, and also simultaneously distribute lists of key tasks, key policy measures, key projects, and so on, to deliver a task book and a timeline for the construction work of the “Two Zones” in 2026. Four key words are worth looking forward to.

Keyword 1: Institutional-based opening-up.

The “Key Points” propose “adhering to institutional innovation as the key core, and leading the development of service-sector opening-up with high-level institutional-based opening-up,” and specify that in 2026, Beijing will formulate and issue the development plan for high-level open-oriented economy for the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” period, advance the 3.0 plan for the comprehensive demonstration area for expanding opening-up in the service sector to be introduced and implemented, and promptly implement the “China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone Strategy Action Plan for Improvement.” Beijing will actively seek to create national demonstration areas for innovative development of service trade and for national digital trade, and promote the establishment of linked development areas for pilot free trade zones.

Expanding opening-up in the service sector is a crucial link in China’s opening-up to the outside world and also the distinctive background of Beijing’s opening-up. As the only national comprehensive demonstration area for expanding opening-up in the service industry, Beijing has cumulatively implemented nearly 300 demonstration area construction tasks from the State Council’s approvals across two rounds. Around promoting reform and opening-up in key areas of the service sector, exploring rules and standards for emerging business formats, and optimizing trade and investment institutional arrangements, Beijing has carried out a series of first-of-its-kind initiatives and explorations. In each national evaluation of the comprehensive demonstration and pilot programs for expanding opening-up in the service sector, Beijing has ranked first, contributing “Beijing practice” to building a high-standard institutional framework for opening-up in the service sector.

“New measures” continue to be converted into “new increments,” and “new traffic” is expanded. In 2025, Beijing newly established more than 2,400 foreign-invested enterprises; service exports grew year-on-year by 11%, both hitting historical highs, laying a solid foundation for continuously deepening opening-up in the service sector and promoting innovation in service trade development. As an important platform for high-level opening-up, the Beijing Pilot Free Trade Zone has, in the first batch nationwide, carried out a pilot program for docking and implementing high-standard institutional-based opening-up. Its demonstration and leading role has continued to strengthen. The share of actually utilized foreign capital in the city increased from less than 10% at the time of establishment to more than 50% in 2025.

Next, Beijing will implement the strategy for improving the pilot free trade zone at a high standard, and by establishing linked development areas for the pilot free trade zones, better leverage the role of integrated connectivity of industries inside and outside the zone (pilot free trade zone) and the coordinated linkage of factors, explore integrated innovation in key industrial chains on a wider scale, and amplify the dividends of the pilot free trade zone.

Keyword 2: Dual-wheel drive.

The “Key Points” propose “adhering to the dual-wheel drive of ‘industry + factors,’ and empowering high-quality development of the capital’s economy through open innovation.” It specifies that in 2026, Beijing will further advance expansion-opening-up pilot programs in areas such as value-added telecommunications and medical care, deepen pilot programs for innovations in trust property registration models, and improve the level of coordinated opening-up among key industries; study and formulate a 3.0 plan for reforms to facilitate cross-border data flows, introduce the second batch of negative lists for data exiting the country, iterate and upgrade the international professional qualification recognition catalog, and continuously enhance the coordinated benefits of factors.

Beijing seizes the opportunities of building the “Two Zones,” continuously leads the way in expanding opening-up in the service sector. As a city (province-level) in the first batch nationwide to carry out pilot programs to expand opening-up in areas such as value-added telecommunications and medical care, it already has more than 60 enterprises participating in the pilots, including many internationally well-known companies such as DECT China and Cummins China. The development of service-sector opening-up cannot do without support from factors such as talent, data, and capital. Previously, Beijing rolled out the first nationwide negative list for cross-border data exits from pilot free trade zones, tailored to scenarios and field-level; issued the first comprehensive reform document for cross-border data flows; and both the diversity of data exiting and the approval pass rate ranked among the top nationwide. Next, Beijing will focus on key areas including medical devices, autonomous driving (intelligent connected vehicles), trade logistics, and banks, promptly release the second batch of negative lists for data exiting the country, and promote the applicability of the lists across the whole city.

Keyword 3: Coordinated linkage among three zones.

The “Key Points” propose “adhering to coordinated linkage among three zones: ‘pilot free trade zone + comprehensive bonded zone + featured parks,’ and strengthening the hub for high-level platforms for opening-up to the outside world.” It specifies that in 2026, Beijing will highlight the pilot free trade zone’s role in opening-up and leadership, further build five pilot free trade zone brands—“innovation, digital intelligence, green, convenience, and coordination”—and clarify tasks including exploring the building of a global “go global” service trading platform for innovative drugs, promoting construction of infrastructure such as international (offshore) data centers, establishing and improving green cost analysis and green price certification systems, optimizing the one-stop service functions of airport service points for “Beijing services,” and implementing tasks including the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Pilot Free Trade Zones Full Industrial-Chain Coordinated Innovation Action Plan.”

At the same time, Beijing will speed up the functional enhancement of comprehensive bonded zones. In the Tianzhu comprehensive bonded zone, it will deepen the construction of a prior-need area for rare-disease drugs; in the comprehensive bonded zone at the Daxing District airport, it will continue to enhance the operational efficiency of the zone-port liaison and communication corridor; in the Zhongguancun comprehensive bonded zone, it will explore an enterprise incubation model that combines technology-based property services with investment funds; and in the Yizhuang comprehensive bonded zone, it will guide major projects such as integrated circuits and bio-pharmaceuticals to enter the zone, building a high-end cluster for bonded processing. Beijing will support and guide all kinds of featured parks—such as those in science and technology and advanced manufacturing, finance, consumption and culture & tourism, and policy function parks—to improve quality and increase efficiency. Pilot free trade zones, comprehensive bonded zones, and featured parks, as important levers for building the “Two Zones,” shoulder an important mission: based on their functional positioning, to carry out differentiated exploration and characteristic practices, accumulating experience for expanding high-level opening-up and building momentum for high-quality development.

Previously, “the three zones” leveraged their resource endowments, took the initiative to innovate and practice boldly. By using institutional innovation to unblock points and nurture functions, they have formed a batch of first-creation practices. For example: Beijing’s Tianzhu comprehensive bonded zone built the first rare-disease drug security prior-need area in the country. In terms of shortening time, ensuring quantity, and full-process traceability, it further optimized mechanisms for securing urgently needed clinical medicines such as rare-disease drugs, promoted the transformation from “getting people ready for the medicine” to “getting medicine ready for the people,” and in 2025, imports of rare-disease drugs in the Tianzhu comprehensive bonded zone exceeded 27 billion yuan, ranking first in the country in scale.

Keyword 4: Strengthening both “bringing in” and “going global.”

The “Key Points” propose “adhering to a results-oriented approach to project landing, and achieving a balance between high-quality ‘bringing in’ and high-level ‘going global.’” It specifies that in 2026, Beijing will attract more new foreign-invested main bodies to land, expand global service partner enterprises, encourage profits from foreign-invested enterprises to be reinvested, and focus on shaping new advantages in attracting foreign investment; around innovation in industrial chains, scenarios, and carriers in industries such as artificial intelligence and bio-pharmaceuticals, improve integrated exhibition and conference services, high-quality host brand events such as the Invest Beijing Conference, and systematically enhance the internationalization level of investment promotion.

In 2026, Beijing will also build the National Import Trade Promotion Innovation Demonstration Zone with high quality, and actively promote the optimization and upgrading of goods trade; promote the digital transformation of services outsourcing and enhance competitiveness in productive services trade, and advance innovative development of service trade; deepen the construction of Beijing’s overseas comprehensive service platform and the “Belt and Road” direct-connection integrated service platform jointly built with others, striving to create the top preferred station for comprehensive overseas-expansion services in China; build the “China Data Street” at a high standard, accelerate the construction of the Beijing International Law Business Integration Demonstration Zone, and promote the gathering and establishment of headquarters for international science and technology organizations, to expand the influence of open innovation platforms.

In 2025, Beijing achieved new breakthroughs in stabilizing foreign trade: goods exports grew by 3.8%, hitting a historical high; two-way investment opened up a new situation; and newly established foreign-invested enterprises increased by 19.5% year-on-year, while external economic cooperation developed steadily. In 2026, Beijing will further step up efforts to implement relevant measures, promote foreign trade to stabilize in scale and optimize in structure, expand cooperation on two-way investment, and better drive reform and development through opening-up. (End)

(Editor: Wen Jing)

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