Shiqiao Group, a logistics platform enterprise located in the central business area of Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone, has received over 1.8 billion yuan in foreign credit since 2020. After the funds enter the country, they are mainly used for the investment of new financing leasing businesses. Relying on the combination of finance and technology, the company has provided financial support for over 8000 vehicles. "With the policy support of the pilot free trade zone, we were approved to apply for joining the credit information system of the People's Bank of China, to 'paint a picture' for the truck driver group, to help them finance car purchases, and effectively reduce the threshold. ”Liu Le, Compliance Director of Shiqiao Group, said. Since April 2015, the first free trade pilot zone in the north has settled in Tianjin, which has the development positioning of "Financial Innovation Operation Demonstration Zone", and continuously deepened the opening and innovation of the financial sector. In May 2022, Gaolier (Tianjin) Packaging Co., Ltd., headquartered in Italy, completed its first offshore trade settlement under the "Tianjin model" of offshore trade. Nowadays, such business has been carried out on a regular basis. Tianjin company can purchase raw materials from global suppliers, assemble them through overseas manufacturing bases such as Italy and the Netherlands, and directly send them to overseas sales destinations such as Thailand, while foreign exchange transactions occur at Tianjin company. ”Milco Turina from Gaolier (Tianjin) Packaging Co., Ltd. said. Under the traditional model, cross-border capital flow and logistics must be consistent, while the "Tianjin model" approves relevant business through multi-party "on-site office meetings" involving foreign exchange management departments, local administrative authorities, commercial banks, and offshore trade implementing enterprises. In 2024, Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone contributed 38% of the city's import and export volume with 1% of Tianjin's land, and the actual use of foreign investment exceeded 40% of the city's total. In order to more effectively promote financial openness, attract foreign investment, and promote foreign trade, Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone has been striving to align with high standard international economic and trade rules. Not long ago, with the joint account of Shengye Commercial Factoring Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Huatu Automotive Logistics Co., Ltd. receiving a payment of 80000 US dollars from an Azerbaijani buyer, China's first cross-border foreign currency international commercial factoring business with "integrated domestic and foreign currency joint account+priority right of repayment" has achieved a closed loop. This is the wisdom of Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone empowering financial openness through institutional innovation! "Exclaimed Shi Yunsheng, General Manager of Huatu Automobile Company. Previously, China's foreign exchange management had the principle of "whoever exports receives foreign exchange". Although commercial factoring companies could pay funds in advance based on accounts receivable bills, they were not exporters and could not directly receive foreign exchange payments. According to Liu Xuan, Senior Manager of the Risk Management Department of Shengye Factoring Company, based on the demands raised by them and exporters, the Innovation and Development Bureau of Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone actively coordinated with customs, foreign exchange and other departments, and held multiple meetings to study solutions. After repeated discussions and communication with relevant departments, we have innovated a way for exporters and factoring companies to open special accounts in banks under the name of cross-border trade enterprises and jointly supervise them. This not only complies with foreign exchange management rules, but also solves the problem of factoring companies receiving payments. ”Qu Bin, Director of the Financial Development Center of the Innovation and Development Bureau of Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone, said that Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone has issued the document "Guiding Opinions on Supporting the High Quality Development of International Commercial Factoring" regarding this reform measure. Liang Yiming, the full-time deputy director of the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone Management Committee, said that under policy cultivation, the total asset size of commercial factoring enterprises in Tianjin has exceeded 300 billion yuan, ranking first in China. Nowadays, the central business area of Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone has become one of the first pilot areas for commercial factoring in China, forming more than 20 national pioneering cases such as China's first factoring accounting standards and first commercial factoring business rules. He Nan, Deputy Director of the Free Trade Bureau of the Central Business District, said that currently, the total assets of factoring companies in the district exceed 150 billion yuan, accounting for one-fifth of China's total assets. It has become an important source of innovation, mode export, and institutional gathering place for China's commercial factoring industry. In the Dongjiang area of Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone, stimulated by dozens of innovative pilot policies such as export tax rebate for financing leasing and capital willingness settlement in the past 10 years, the scale of aircraft leasing in the area has developed from more than 400 in 2015 to over 2300 today, rising to become the world's aircraft leasing highland second only to Ireland. Shi Yunsheng, who registered the company in the Dongjiang area, told reporters that a free trade (FT) account also brings them great convenience. Previously, companies had to open USD accounts for USD transactions and EUR accounts for EUR transactions. If they had business dealings with many countries, they had to open accounts in various foreign currencies. And FT accounts can achieve the integration of domestic and foreign currencies, which is more conducive to our 'going global'. ”Shi Yunsheng said that in 2021, the export value of Huatu Automobile was only 4.27 million US dollars, and in 2024, this number surged to nearly 100 million US dollars. As the only region in the north that allows the opening of FT accounts, Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone has opened over 3000 accounts with a scale exceeding 1.15 trillion yuan. Sun Yong, Vice President of Bank of China Tianjin Branch, said that FT account users can flexibly choose the offshore onshore exchange rate and settlement time to increase their income. Foreign enterprises can also open FT accounts when setting up branches in Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone, effectively serving national strategies such as the coordinated development of Beijing Tianjin Hebei. Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone is leveraging its policy advantages to emerge a number of typical cases of cross-border and offshore financial products and services, building a more open and competitive cross-border investment and financing ecosystem, injecting a continuous stream of power into the sustainable development of the local economy. ”Wang Yagang, Deputy Director of Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Commerce, said. (New Society)