Shanghai Weekly Bulletin (Issue 24, No.3, December 2023）

1. China Introduces Measures to Accelerate Integrated Development of Domestic and Foreign Trade

The General Office of the State Council released on December 7, 2023 the Several Measures on Accelerating the Integrated Development of Domestic and Foreign Trade. The document proposes 18 measures in five aspects, including improving the alignment of domestic and foreign trade rules and systems, promoting the coordination of domestic and foreign trade market channels, improving the environment for the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, accelerating integration development in key areas, and strengthening the fiscal and financial support. 

Source: Website of the Chinese Government

https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202312/content_6919596.htm

2. China and Australia to Implement AEO Mutual Recognition

The General Administration of Customs issued on December 8, 2023 the Announcement on the Implementation of Mutual Recognition of "Authorized Economic Operators" (AEO) Between Chinese and Australian Customs. The Announcement clarifies that the customs authorities of China and Australia will provide each other's AEO companies with facilitative measures when clearing imported goods, and are committed to providing rapid customs clearance after international trade is interrupted and resumed.

Source: General Administration of Customs

http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/302266/302267/5557704/index.html

3. SAFE Unveils Nine Measures to Facilitate Cross-border Trade and Investment

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) recently released the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Deepening Reforms to Facilitate Cross-Border Trade and Investment. The document proposes nine measures in three aspects, including facilitating trade foreign exchange receipts and payments, expanding capital account facilitation policies, and improving capital account foreign exchange management. The move aims to further facilitate cross-border trade and investment and effectively enhance foreign exchange management to serve the real economy.

Source: SAFE

https://www.safe.gov.cn/safe/2023/1208/23593.html

1. Shanghai Issues Document to Support Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality

Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau and Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission recently issued the Guidelines on the Work of Providing Fiscal Support for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality in Shanghai. The document includes overall requirements, support for carbon peaking actions in key areas, fiscal policy measures, and safeguard measures. 

Source: Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau

https://czj.sh.gov.cn/zys_8908/zcfg_8983/zcfb_8985/zrzyhsthj/20231212/xxfbdf0000022249.html

2. Shanghai Issues Measures for the Management of Food Safety Liability Insurance 

Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation and Shanghai Bureau of the National Financial Regulatory Administration recently issued the Measures of Shanghai for the Management of Food Safety Liability Insurance. With a total of 21 articles, the Measures aims to improve the social governance system on food safety, ensure the safety of people's lives and property, and promote high-quality development of the food industry. The Measures took effect on December 1, 2023 and will remain effective until November 30, 2028. 

Source: Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation

https://scjgj.sh.gov.cn/209/20231213/2c984ad68c48e2a6018c613cf290630b.html

3. Pudong Advances Development of the Pilot Zone for “Silk Road E-commerce” Cooperation

The Pudong New Area Plan for Advancing the Development of the Pilot Zone for "Silk Road E-Commerce" Cooperation was officially released on December 14, 2023. By outlining 24 tasks in five aspects, the Plan clarifies that Pudong will have basically completed the building of a high-quality central functional area of the Pilot Zone for Silk Road E-commerce Cooperation with a demonstration area for the comprehensive services by 2025. The moves aim to promote "Belt and Road" countries to push for trade cooperation in the form of e-commerce.

Source: Pudong Commerce

1. Shanghai and WIPO Sign MOU on Strengthening Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property

Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed on December 9, 2023 the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property. According to the MOU, the two sides will deepen cooperation in building intellectual property ecosystem, intellectual property alternative dispute resolution mechanism, intellectual property application, and intellectual property talent training, and drive more high-quality international intellectual property resources to be settled in Shanghai.

Source: Shanghai Release

The 20th Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum opened on December 10, 2023. The forum was themed on “Strengthening Legal Protection for Intellectual Property, Fueling Innovation-driven Development of Digital Economy”. A national report on intellectual property finance jointly compiled by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was released at the forum. Co-hosted by the CNIPA, the WIPO and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, the three-day forum has brought together experts and academics from home and abroad to make in-depth exchanges and discussions on topics such as "Digital Science and Technology Innovation and Intellectual Property Protection".

Source: CNIPA

2. 2023 Shanghai Digital Transformation Experience Week Opens 

The 2023 Shanghai Digital Transformation Experience Week opened on December 16 at the National University Science and Technology Park of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. With the theme of "Making Response to Seek Opportunities and Using Data to Explore Innovation", the experience week will last for seven days. It will review the effect and experience of Shanghai's digital transformation in 2023, commend outstanding demonstrations, release results reports, and revitalize citizen experience.

Source: Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization

1. Museum of Art Pudong Opens Heavyweight Exhibition “Caravaggio: Wonders of the Italian Baroque”

2. Special Exhibition of “Sanxingdui and Auguste Rodin” Opens to the Public 

Q1: Leaders of the Ministry of Commerce answered reporters' questions at the Ministry’s regular press conference - The Ministry of Commerce recently held a roundtable meeting with representatives of foreign-funded enterprises in Taicang, Jiangsu, to hear their briefings about development and operations of some foreign-funded enterprises and foreign business associations in China. How does the Ministry of Commerce look at the current situation of foreign investment and utilization of foreign capital?

A1: Due to multiple economic and non-economic factors, the actual amount of foreign direct investment in China has seen some volatility this year. We have explained the reasons many times. We have to point out that the current scale of FDI is still at a historical high, the investment structure is constantly optimized, the proportion of investment in high-tech industries is increasing, and foreign investors’ enthusiasm for China has not diminished. In the first ten months of this year, actual investment from Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands has increased by 110.3%, 94.6%, 90.0%, 66.1% and 33.0% respectively from the same period of last year (including investment data through free ports).

China has always been committed to building a market-oriented, law-based and international first-class business environment to serve foreign-funded enterprises. The 24 Articles to Stabilize Foreign Investment are targeted policies and measures that we have introduced based on extensive collection of suggestions and appeals from foreign-funded enterprises, and these measures are designed to address key, difficult and thorny issues in the field of foreign investment. At present, relevant departments and local governments are making every effort to implement policies, and many targeted measures have been introduced recently. For example, three types of individual income tax exemptions for foreign expatriates and the tax refund policy for foreign-funded R&D centers purchasing domestic equipment have been extended, the protection against online infringement has been improved, the unilateral visa exemption policy for ordinary passport holders from 6 countries has been introduced, and the visa application for foreigners has been streamlined. There are also some policies in the process of being formulated, such as optimizing the domestic production application procedures for drugs that have already been marketed overseas, regulating and promoting cross-border data flow, etc. It is believed that with the implementation of these practical measures, the difficult problems reported by enterprises will be effectively solved, and the environment for foreign companies doing business in China will become better and better.

In the next stage, we will implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, expand high-level opening to the outside world, benchmark international high-standard economic and trade rules, steadily promote institutional opening-up, actively respond to the demands of foreign enterprises, facilitate people-to-people exchange between China and foreign countries, and make persistent efforts to optimize foreign investment and services. We believe that more foreign-funded enterprises will choose to "invest in China", seize "opportunities in China", and achieve common development with an "open China".

Source: Ministry of Commerce

http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/xwfbh/20231214.shtml