China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone Nanjing Area (hereinafter referred to as “Nanjing Area”) initiated in the province to release the Ten Measures to Encourage Institutional Explorations in recent days. Focusing on pushing forward with deeper reform and higher-level innovation, the Measures put forward 10 moves, such as establishing a coordinated working mechanism for institutional explorations, establishing a reasonable evaluation mechanism for institutional explorations, and encouraging social entities to participate in institutional explorations.

It is learned the Measures has the following three highlights.

It focuses on system integration. The Measures tailors to the conditions of Jiangbei New Area (Nanjing Area) and covers the whole process of institutional explorations, from creating a sound innovation environment, strengthening system integration innovation, and trying to bid for pilot reform projects, to establishing an innovation evaluation mechanism, establishing a fault-tolerant and error-correcting mechanism, and strengthening organizational support for innovation.

It focuses on key areas. The Measures clarifies areas of innovation and centers on collaborative innovation in science and technology, open innovation in the industrial chain, innovation ecology and business environment improvement while highlighting system integration and collaborative innovation; encourages participation in innovation, sets up a channel for collection of suggestions on institutional explorations, releases innovation topics on a regular basis, and expands the scope of participants to include natural persons; increases innovation incentives, according to which innovation achievements will be replicated and promoted across the country or the province, and financial support will be given to main innovation teams.

It focuses on improving the support mechanism. Accountability will be introduced into institutional exploration projects, and the performance on institutional explorations is part of the annual assessment of Jiangbei New Area (Nanjing Area). Special funds will be allocated for the work on institutional explorations and the implementation of incentives. An error-tolerant and error-correcting mechanism for innovation will be established to rectify deviations in the process of institutional explorations in a timely manner.

The construction of pilot free trade zones is an important strategic measure the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core takes to promote reform and opening up in the new era. The outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan proposed to “improve the layout of pilot free trade zones, give them greater autonomy in reform, deepen the exploration of first-of-its-kind, integrated and differentiated reforms, and actively replicate and promote successful institutional explorations”.

Since it was approved to establish more than two years ago, Nanjing Area, actively implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions and the CPC Central Committee’s decisions and plans on the construction of pilot free trade zones, has taken advanced regions as examples, conducted bold trials and experiments and taken the initiative to make adjustment. It has also carried out deep systemic and integrated reforms to encourage institutional explorations and explore characteristic and differentiated development. As a result, more than 100 successful first-of-its-kind institutional explorations have been made and a better business environment has been created for various market players to make explorations.

The improvement of business environment has become a high-frequency word in the first meetings held after the Chinese lunar new year at many places in recent days. Nanjing Area is committed to bringing real benefits to enterprises with practical and heart-warming measures. The Measures proposes to improve the business environment, follow high-standard international economic and trade rules, and improve the business environment with institutional explorations so as to stimulate the vitality of market players; support the bureaus of Jiangbei New Area (Nanjing Area) and offices of other government agencies in the area in carrying out pilot reforms in fields like administrative approval system reform, investment management system reform, trade and investment facilitation explorations, market supervision reform, talent service management explorations, and legal service and support so as to form integrated innovation measures.

In 2021, on the basis of summarizing innovation experience, Nanjing Area focused on key areas and key links, accelerated deeper reforms and higher-level opening up, and formed a number of successful first-of-its-kind institutional explorations, two of which were replicated and promoted nationwide, 11 of which were replicated and promoted province-wide, and 15 of which were replicated and promoted city-wide, representing the vigor of institutional explorations and releasing reform dividends. In order to publicize and promote these successful explorations, the Measures also proposes the reform measures and successful institutional explorations of Nanjing Area will be released on a regular basis to support the replication and promotion of these achievements, create Jiangbei Brand in terms of institutional explorations, and enhance the influence of Nanjing Area in institutional explorations.

A series of targeted policies and exploratory services reflect the determination and strength of Nanjing Area in encouraging institutional explorations. With the implementation of the Measures, Nanjing Area will provide support with policies across the board, and step up efforts in reforms and explorations by focusing on integrated innovation so as to form a number of cross-departmental and cross-sector integrated innovation achievements in opening up and fuel new innovation achievements on the whole industrial chain.