On the morning of August 20, the Seminar on Development of China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone Nanjing Area was held in Nanjing Jiangbei New Area. Han Liming, Mayor of Nanjing and Director of the Administration Committee of Jiangbei New Area, attended and addressed the seminar. Luo Qun, member of the Standing Committee of CPC Nanjing Committee and Deputy Secretary of the CPC working committee of Jiangbei New Area, briefed on the development of the Area. Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Nanjing Committee and Executive Vice Mayor Yang Xuepeng unveiled the Supply Chain Development Innovation Center of China (Jiangsu) Free Trade Zone Nanjing Area and China Trade in Services Digital Industrial Base. City leader Wang Wei, delegates from the Provincial Department of Commerce, and experts and scholars from related research institutions also attended the seminar.

Following the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s instructions, Nanjing has been promoting the high-quality and high standard development of the China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone Nanjing Area since its approval. Focusing on the strategic orientation of the Jiangbei New Area in building a hub for innovation, a cluster of modern industries and a major platform for opening-up and cooperation, concrete plans and policies have been formulated in view of differences, characteristics and actual situations, and reforms have been deepened based on risk control. The “1+9” policies have been fully implemented and experience of pilot reform and innovation cases have been replicated and promoted. The foundation of industrial development has been further consolidated. More than 200 projects worth over RMB 100 million have signed agreement and settled in the Area and the two leading industries of integrated circuits and biomedicine have seen significant growth. New enthusiasm for innovation has been unlocked, with clustering of more than 60 new-type R&D institutions and 200 newly-introduced high-tech enterprises in the Area. The development of the Nanjing Area has seen significant progress.

According to Han Liming, in the face of unprecedented changes in the international and domestic environment, the China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone Nanjing Area has made visionary plans for development and reform that conforms to the trend of the times in a bid to make breakthroughs. On the first anniversary of its establishment, the Nanjing Area will promote sound development at a new starting point, further release the dividends of reform, step up institutional innovation, blaze a new path of high-quality development with characteristics, and set an example and benchmark for the development of pilot free trade zones in China. Predictions on the development orientation of the pilot FTZ should be made when formulating the development plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with the strategic, leading and pioneering role of the Nanjing Area being highlighted, to enhance its influence, strengths and characteristics, so that the FTZ will become a new driving force for Nanjing’s high-quality development and a new growth pole for regional development in the next five years. Facing the changes in the external environment, the FTZ should play a better role in fostering a new dual-cycle development architecture with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and with domestic and international development reinforcing each other. The FTZ will move towards the high end of the value chain and industrial chain through reforms, unleash market potentials, work as a functional platform in the dual-cycle competition by leveraging the advantages of two-way opening-up, and set an example for opening up based on rules and related institutions.

Han Liming said that Nanjing will establish world-leading systems and mechanisms driven by institutional innovation, put emphasis on industrial innovation and shape its pioneering role in global competition, improve the efficient allocation and utilization of resources and production factors with open innovation as the key, form the development layout of region-wide free trade characterized by coordinated innovation, and spearhead reform and development of the FTZs by fostering opportunities in new fields. She also stressed the importance of pooling wisdom and strengths together and called for concerted efforts from experts and delegates to build a better future for the China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone Nanjing Area.

The Report on International Development of China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone Nanjing Area was released at the seminar. Experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions on the strategy for international development of Nanjing Area at a new starting point as well as other topics.