The State Council issued a document to promote the high-level institutional opening up of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone

The State Council recently issued the "Overall Plan for Promoting High-level Institutional Opening-up in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Comprehensively Aligning with International High-standard Economic and Trade Rules" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") to fully implement the promotion strategy of the pilot free trade zone, better play the role of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone in the first and first trial, and build a national institutional-based opening up demonstration zone.

The Plan clarifies a number of tasks to be explored in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone at present and in the future, including accelerating the expansion and opening up of trade in services, improving the level of liberalization and facilitation of trade in goods, and promoting the reform of government procurement.

Among them, in terms of promoting the reform of the relevant "post-border" management system, the Plan proposes that biodiversity conservation policies will be introduced to support the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Support international cooperation, experience sharing and capacity building in the field of green and low-carbon. Accelerate the establishment of a national carbon emission trading agency. Enterprises in the Lingang Special Area are allowed to carry out high and low sulfur fuel oil blending and blending business for the purpose of ship supply in the form of processing trade or bonded logistics, and qualified storage facilities can have the functions of export supervision warehouses and bonded warehouses at the same time. Support the Lingang Special Area to accelerate the construction of hydrogen energy core technologies and standard systems, allow the construction of hydrogen production and hydrogen refueling integrated stations in accordance with laws and regulations, carry out small-scale wind power hydrogen production in tidal flats, and improve the high-pressure hydrogen storage system.

Support the establishment of certification bodies, carry out green product and ecological product certification, carry out certified product traceability, and establish a traceability mechanism for certified products.

Support the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing to protect relevant fish stocks by standardizing fishing gear practices, reducing fishing hours, reducing the number of fishing vessels, and imposing fishing quotas.

Encourage the import and export of environmental products and services, enrich the system of green financial products and services, study and promote green bonds and environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes, and promote cooperation in environmental products and services.