Yangcheng Evening News: GDD, Qianhai sign agreement to boost reform, innovation

Guangzhou’s Huangpu district and the Guangzhou Development District announced their cooperation agreement with the administrative committee of Shenzhen’s Qianhai and Shekou pilot free trade zone on Oct 29.

According to the agreement, the parties will establish a district-level coordination mechanism to promote cross-region institutional innovation, improve coordination for regional development, deepen beneficial cooperation in industries and upgrade opening-up in an all-round way.

They will also carry out institutional innovation in investment, trade, finance, intellectual property and medicine, and strive for national policy support.

In addition, the parties will promote medical and health reform pilots or projects with the support of the Qianhai Bay free trade port, the western port and the Guangzhou free trade zone to advance institutional innovation for drug movement across the border.

The arrangements will make it easier for drugs from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas to be sold in the Chinese mainland and establish a green channel mechanism for domestic drugs to gain overseas approval.

Meanwhile, they will further explore linkage testing and system integration between the Qianhai and Shekou free trade zone and the GDD, and pursue a number of cross-region and trans-department major reform and innovation achievements.

The State-owned enterprises in the two areas will be encouraged to strengthen cooperation in talents, project matchmaking and investment invitation.

The parties to the agreement will attract more financial institutions to launch their headquarters in Qianhai and invite headquarters of leading service providers to settle in the GDD, hoping to develop a new highland consisting of a financial industry park and high-end manufacturing in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

They will give full play to the advantages of Qianhai's financial opening-up and innovation and support the GDD’s prioritizing cross-border use of RMB in the GBA on the premise of effective risk prevention.

In addition, enterprises in the GDD will be encouraged to promote trade financing and overseas investment business with the advantages and resources brought by financial cooperation between Qianhai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Share - WeChat