(Yicai) Nov. 24 -- China has approved a plan to support Beijing in building a comprehensive demonstration zone for opening-up and growing the city’s service sector.

As part of the plan green-lit by the State Council and released yesterday, restrictions on foreign shareholdings in value-added telecoms businesses in the capital will be removed and more studies will be made to further widen foreign access to these companies such as those in information and internet services.

In the area of financial services, the plan enables insurance asset managers to issue Chinese yuan-denominated products on the premise of independent account and risk isolation. It also supports venture capital and private equity firms to develop market-oriented cooperation with financial institutions to provide financing services to portfolio companies.

In the cultural services field, the plan supports agencies to bring in excellent film and television works from overseas, while key online audio-visual platforms should optimize and standardize their management and services. Foreign companies will also be allowed to set up wholly-owned vocational schools.

As for health and medical services, Beijing will explore equity incentives for employees from other countries as well as Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan in research and development firms involved in stem cells and gene therapy.

The plan also proposes to ease the flow of cross-border funds. Companies in the demonstration zone can use yuan to directly buy foreign currencies to pay for imported goods while banks will be allowed to issue trade financing loans to overseas institutions. Moreover, Beijing will study approaches to exempt foreign-funded firms from registration to reinvest foreign capital.

Furthermore, the government will back the establishment of a pilot zone for Silk Road digital cooperation in the capital.

But the plan also emphasizes improving the risk prevention and control system and strengthening risk prevention in key areas. The government intends to toughen health and medical safety oversight, promote innovation in regulatory techniques, make full use of information technology, bolster risk prevention and early warning efforts, and enhance daily and dynamic supervision and inspection.

Editor: Emmi Laine