There is always room for improvement in the business environment. During a recent enterprise meeting on high-quality development, the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone Qingdao Area (SDPFTZ Qingdao Area) introduced the Measures for Optimizing the Business Environment in the SDPFTZ Qingdao Area and Qingdao Sino-German Ecopark 2.0, which features 18 new initiatives aimed at enhancing the business environment.
In November 2024, SDPFTZ Qingdao Area implemented its Version 1.0 of 18 measures across four key areas, with all measures now fully executed. Now, Version 2.0 has been unveiled, addressing major enterprise concerns by leveraging the area's institutional innovation strengths and learning from advanced regions. The new package presents 18 additional measures focused on institutional improvements, growth, integration, and innovation.
Two measures focus on policy system improvements, including streamlined documentation, optimized payment procedures, and expanded policy coverage. These measures also involve formulating and revising policies for emerging sectors, formats, and models like cross-border e-commerce and service trade. In addition, these measures introduce a catalog system for “automatic-benefit” and “instant-approval” policies, standardize payment procedure guidelines, simplify application requirements, optimize payout processes, enhance the "policy funnel" system, and expand coverage and precision matching for direct benefit delivery.
Three measures aim to enhance opening-up and facilitation, including establishing a comprehensive overseas business service center, accelerating customs clearance, and creating integrated approval services for energy trading firms. These measures address energy traders' challenges through integrated approval services, fostering synergy across industrial, supply, and capital chains to better support the development of the area as a hub for bulk commodity resource allocation and an energy-focused free trade port.
Four measures focus on deepening integrated innovation, including streamlining vessel operations through “one-stop” reforms, leveraging port resource advantages, and advancing the “multi-in-one” enterprise service reform in the construction sector. The SDPFTZ Qingdao Area will establish a coordinated, multi-agency approval system for ship-related services, enabling single-form processing of high-frequency matters with data sharing and online-offline integration. It will also develop a multimodal transport platform and build a logistics operations hub.
Additionally, the area will enhance factor supply by creating a one-stop supply-demand matching platform, formulating interbank lending regulations, establishing end-to-end legal service mechanisms, optimizing living support services, and developing entrepreneur networking spaces. The area will also reinforce safeguards through time-bound corporate grievance resolution mechanisms, expanded institutional innovation pilot programs, and accelerated solutions for critical challenges.
Moving forward, the SDPFTZ Qingdao Area will continue to benchmark international standards and enhance its business environment. Annually, it will implement key measures to optimize the business climate and introduce no fewer than 10 innovative corporate service measures every year, aiming to establish a world-class business environment.
