Multiple practical policies have been introduced in the fields of tourism and finance, and China's service industry opening up is advancing in depth
2024-05-28
Starting from May 15th, China will fully implement a visa free policy for foreign tourist groups entering coastal provinces by cruise ship. Foreign tourist groups (2 or more people) who take a cruise ship and are received by domestic travel agencies can enter the country as a whole from cruise ports in 13 cities without visa application. This is another policy advantage following the expansion of China's visa free entry "circle of friends". Currently, promoting the opening up of service industries such as tourism, healthcare, and finance to the outside world is an important means of expanding high-level opening up. Since the beginning of this year, China has introduced multiple practical policies to expand the opening up of the service industry to the outside world. How is the implementation of various policies? What other areas should the service industry focus on expanding its opening up? Recently, the reporter conducted an interview. Optimizing visa free policies and unleashing cross-border tourism vitality. On the morning of May 24th, the Bahamian cruise ship "Mediterranean" docked at the Tianjin International Cruise Home Port, and nearly 800 foreign tourists enjoyed the visa free policy for entering the country by cruise ship. Exemption from filling out foreign entry cards and stamping entry verification seals saves about one-third of the customs clearance time compared to before the implementation of the new policy. "The comprehensive implementation of the visa free policy for foreign tourist groups entering the country by cruise will effectively promote the development of inbound tourism." The person in charge of the East Xinjiang Border Inspection Station at Tianjin Border Inspection Station stated that with the continuous rise of the "cruise fever", Tianjin's advantages as an international port have become increasingly prominent, and more and more foreign tourists are choosing to take cruise ships to visit Tianjin. Tianjin International Cruise Home Port is expected to receive 100 inbound cruise ships in 2024. Not only is the cruise tourism market rapidly heating up, but since the beginning of this year, the vitality of the cross-border tourism market has continued to be released. In Suzhou, Jiangsu, more than 20 tourists from Australia are strolling in classical gardens. "It's my first time coming to Suzhou. The scenery here is beautiful and the historical background is profound, it's fantastic," said tourist Michael. According to the big data monitoring of passenger flow by the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the total number of inbound and outbound tourists during the May Day holiday reached 3.672 million, including 1.775 million inbound tourists and 1.897 million outbound tourists. The China Tourism Research Institute predicts that the number of outbound tourists in China will reach 130 million in 2024. The two-way travel of tourists cannot be separated from a package of high-level opening-up policies. Starting from March 14th, China has implemented a visa free policy for ordinary passport holders from six countries, including Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, and Austria. Since the end of last year, China has successively implemented visa free entry policies for countries such as France, Germany, and Italy, and signed visa free agreements with Antigua and Barbuda, Singapore, and Thailand. The circle of friends of visa free countries continues to expand, and the convenience of foreign personnel entering the country continues to improve. The visa free policy is a mutually beneficial measure for China and the world tourism market. More and more countries are exempting China from visas, making it more convenient for Chinese citizens to leave the country. The economic benefits brought by Chinese tourists can effectively promote the development of the local tourism market. At the same time, the circle of friends for 'mutual visa exemption' continues to expand, providing more convenience for foreigners to come to China and being widely welcomed by the international community According to Wang Yalei, an industry analyst at Ctrip Research Institute. Smooth flow of factors and convenience for foreign personnel to come to China. Currently, the service industry has become the main driving force for global economic growth. Accelerating the opening up of the service industry to the outside world is an important engine for shaping new advantages in international competition and cooperation under the new situation. In 2023, the added value of China's service industry accounted for 54.6% of GDP. In terms of international cooperation, service trade, goods trade, and digital trade have become the "three pillars" of China's trade power construction. In the first quarter of this year, China's service trade grew rapidly, with a total import and export volume of 1816.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.7%. Since the beginning of this year, in order to expand the opening up of the service industry to the outside world, China has taken the smooth flow of production factors as a key measure to enhance the convenience of foreign personnel coming to China for work, study, and tourism. The Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu, Sichuan is a popular check-in point for foreign tourists visiting China. At the cultural and creative store at the base, American tourist John spotted a giant panda doll. He completed the payment smoothly in just a few seconds by swiping his overseas bank card. Payment is an important aspect for foreign nationals coming to China for work, study, and tourism. In March of this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Optimizing Payment Services and Improving Payment Convenience", proposing that banks and payment institutions should accelerate the software and hardware transformation of overseas bank card acceptance equipment according to the list of key merchants, and comprehensively consider promoting the development of contactless payments. A package of thoughtful arrangements will be launched for all aspects of foreign personnel coming to China. The Ministry of Commerce has recently compiled the "Guidelines for Foreign Business Individuals Working and Living in China", covering matters such as accommodation, bank cards, social insurance, and transportation. The Ministry of Transport is accelerating the popularization of online ticket sales, promoting the application of electronic tickets, and facilitating domestic and foreign personnel to purchase tickets online with various documents such as ID cards, passports, and permanent residency permits for foreigners... These practical measures provide convenience for foreign personnel to work, live, and travel in China. In addition to the movement of natural persons, we also listen to the demands of all parties and improve management systems for cross-border data flow issues. Not long ago, the State Internet Information Office announced the Provisions on Promoting and Regulating the Cross border Flow of Data, which provides an important basis for promoting the orderly and free flow of data according to law and creating a more transparent and predictable business environment. Benchmarking international rules and improving the opening system. From the opening ceremony of the third "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum last year, which proposed to "completely eliminate restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector", to this year's Government Work Report, which proposed to "relax market access in the telecommunications, medical and other service industries", China has made an overall plan to promote the all-round opening of the manufacturing and service industries. "In recent years, the global industrial and supply chain landscape has accelerated adjustment, and manufacturing has become the focus of competition among countries. However, the trend of global service industry opening up and development is becoming increasingly prominent, becoming a key area for the reconstruction of international economic and trade rules." Lin Meng, Director of the Modern Supply Chain Research Institute of the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that according to relevant surveys conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the degree of openness of China's manufacturing industry is basically at the same level as that of developed economies. The opening process in value-added telecommunications, healthcare and other service industries is relatively lagging behind, and the breadth of service industry opening needs to be further expanded. Since the beginning of this year, in response to the institutional obstacles in market access and industry regulation faced by the current expansion of opening up in the service industry, China has expanded institutional opening up and promoted management system reform by benchmarking against international high standard economic and trade rules. The General Office of the State Council has issued the Action Plan for Solidly Promoting High Level Opening up to the Outside World and Strengthening Attraction and Utilization of Foreign Investment, which has made a series of deployments to expand the opening up of the service industry. It aims to "continue to promote the expansion of opening up in telecommunications, medical and other fields" and "expand the access of financial institutions outside the banking and insurance fields". The Ministry of Commerce has issued the "Special Management Measures for Cross border Service Trade (Negative List)" (2024 Edition) and the "Special Management Measures for Cross border Service Trade in Pilot Free Trade Zones (Negative List)" (2024 Edition). "The two versions of the list actively adopt a negative list model to unify the management of cross-border service trade market access, effectively improving the transparency and predictability of cross-border service trade management. This is a major reform of China's service trade management system," said the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce. Further deepen reforms in key areas and key links, steadily promote the opening up of the service industry to the outside world, and continuously connect the world with a higher level of openness. A more open China will undoubtedly bring more opportunities for cooperation and win-win outcomes to the world. (Lai Xin She)
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