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Beijing FTZ marks major milestones in reform and innovation

China.org.cn
| July 4, 2025
2025-07-04

The China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has reached new milestones in reform and opening-up as the capital city marks the fifth anniversary of the "two zones" initiative, city officials announced Thursday.

The "two zones" initiative refers to Beijing's initiative for building the pilot free trade zone and the national comprehensive demonstration zone aimed at further opening up the service sector. 

Significant progress has been made in science and technology innovation. In Haidian district, Zhongguancun has built a state-of-the-art AI computing cluster, and its chip design sector ranks among the largest in the city. The district has developed one industrial cluster valued at over 1 trillion yuan and four others each worth hundreds of billions. By 2027, the number of clusters worth hundreds of billions is expected to exceed seven.

Changping district, with a focus on biomedicine and health, has launched China's first international research hospital and achieved breakthroughs in synthetic biology manufacturing. Today, it is home to more than 10 top-tier research institutions and over 2,000 pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, boosting total revenue in the district's biomedicine and health sector to over 100 billion yuan.

Beijing has also made major progress to further improve business services. Over the past five years, this has led to Chaoyang's CBD attracting nearly 60,000 new businesses and over 10,000 foreign-funded institutions. 

Shunyi has become China's leading hub for rare disease drugs, receiving over 40% of such imports into the country. Tongzhou is advancing green finance and carbon trading platforms, with cumulative carbon trading volumes exceeding 2.1 million metric tons and transactions totaling more than 180 million yuan by the end of June.

In high-end industries, Daxing district, benefiting from FTZ policies, has welcomed over 7,800 enterprises with combined revenues of 150 billion yuan. 

Beijing E-Town has emerged as a center for advanced technology sectors such as commercial space, AI, and biomedicine. Currently, about one out of every three foreign research and development centers in Beijing is located there. In 2024, Beijing E-Town attracted $1.26 billion in actual foreign investment, accounting for 43.8% of the Beijing FTZ's total.

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