(Yicai Global) Dec. 15 -- China’s commerce ministry released a report today highlighting the role of the pilot free trade zones in leading the country’s high-level opening-up and their important contribution in steadying foreign trade and investment.

The three roles of the FTZs -- to lead open economic development, demonstrate procedural innovation, and support the building of world-class industrial clusters -- are becoming increasingly obvious, Gu Xueming, head of the ministry’s Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said at an online event to launch the report today.

The 21 FTZs across China continued to play a frontline role to attract overseas capital and trade last year, driving their growth despite an adverse environment, according to the ministry’s fourth annual on the zones.

Last year, actual use of foreign capital by the zones jumped 19 percent from 2020, higher than the average 14.9 percent for the Chinese mainland’s 31 provincial-level administrative areas, to CNY213 billion (USD30.6 billion), or 18.5 percent of the national total, data in the report showed.

At 29.5 percent, the increase in the zones’ import and export volume was higher than the 21.4 percent for provincial-level areas, reaching CNY6.8 trillion (USD976 billion), equivalent to 17.3 percent of 2021’s total.

The FTZs incubated scientific and technological service industry clusters and enhanced support for the innovative development of the integrated circuit and biomedicine industries to shape innovation-driven advantages, per the report.

That is needed to forge innovations in key tech and products so as to seize the commanding heights of industrial innovation and development, the report noted. The zones had tech and product innovations in the industrial field, building high-end, high-tech and emerging tech clusters.

Last year, the FTZs promoted improvements in related industrial standards and filled in the gaps in industry standards based on clusters of Internet of things and engineering machinery industries in an effort to align with new international economic and trade rules.

Editors: Xu Wei, Peter Thomas