Implementation Plan of Shanghai Municipality for the Several Measures on Aligning with the International High Standards to Promote the Institutional Opening in the Qualified Pilot Free Trade Zones and Free Trade Ports

With a view to further carrying out and implementing the Several Measures on Aligning with the International High Standards to Promote the Institutional Opening in the Qualified Pilot Free Trade Zones and Free Trade Ports (SCG [2023] No. 9), continuously promoting the reform and innovation in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area (hereinafter referred to as Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area), actively increasing the intensity of pressure tests, better undertaking the major missions granted by the State, and promoting the high-level institutional opening, this Implementation Plan is formulated in the light of the actual circumstances.

I. Main Objectives

Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall align with the highest standards, the best level and the national strategic needs, and steadily expand the institutional opening of rules, regulations, administration and standards. Except the pilot measures that require the implementation rules to be issued by the relevant national ministries and commissions, or the pilot measures required by the relevant national ministries and commissions for a quicker implementation, we shall strive to push forward the implementation of various pilot measures in the fields of trade in goods, trade in services, digital trade, temporary entry of business personnel, optimizing of business environment, etc. in one year. In the process of implementation, we shall respond to risks effectively, attach importance to digging into typical cases, summarize effective practices and highlighted results, and promptly refine and form the achievements of institutional innovation. By the time of evaluation at the first anniversary of the implementation, the pilot work shall have made progress, with innovations, breakthroughs, achievements, projects and cases in hands, and formed a batch of experience and practices that can be reproduced and spread.

II. Promoting the Innovative Development of Trade in Goods

1. Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall formulate the pilot plan for the import of remanufactured products, and promptly implement it upon reporting it to the national competent department of commerce for approval. The pilot plan shall specify the list of imported remanufactured products, the standards and requirements applicable for the remanufactured products (including but not limited to the quality characteristics, safety and environmental protection performance, and other aspects), conformity assessment procedures, regulatory measures, etc.

2. For the following goods temporarily entering Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, the customs, import VAT and consumption taxes need not be paid temporarily after their taxpayers provide guarantee to the Customs at the time of entry: professional equipment (including the software, instruments, equipment and supplies for news reports or film and television programs) necessary for business, trade or professional activities by the temporarily entry persons who conform to the provisions of our law; the goods used for exhibitions or demonstrations; commercial samples, advertising films and audio recordings; and sports articles necessary for sports competitions, performances or trainings. The above goods shall be transported out of the mainland of China again within six months from the date of entry, and shall not be used for sale, rent or other commercial purposes during the period of temporary entry. If it is necessary to extend the period after which the goods shall be transported out of the mainland of China, the extension procedures shall be handled in accordance with the provisions.

3. If there are only typographical or typing errors, non-critical information omission, other minor errors, or tiny difference between files, in the certificates of origin provided by enterprises when handling the import customs declaration, the Customs, after confirming the origin qualification of the goods, may grant such enterprises with preferential tariff treatment, and the enterprises don’t have to repeatedly modify or submit the application materials. On the basis of summarizing the experience, Shanghai Customs shall reproduce and promote such practices throughout Shanghai.

4. Where an enterprise applies to the Customs for the extension of the preruling time in case that there is no change of the laws, facts and circumstances on which the preruling is based, the Customs shall, according to the relevant requirements, improve the working process, accept the application for the extension of the preruling time, and make a quick decision before the expiration of the validity period of the ruling.

5. On the premise of meeting the regulatory requirements of the Customs of China and completing the necessary quarantine procedures, the Customs shall release within six hours after arrival the air express goods of which the necessary documents have been submitted.

6. On the premise of complying with the relevant provisions of China and completing the necessary quarantine procedures, the Customs shall release within 48 hours the arrived goods imported by air and sea freight of which all the information required for customs clearance has been submitted.

7. If the tariff, or other import duties and fees are not determined before the arrival (including at the arrival) of goods, but the release conditions in other respects are met, and the Customs have been provided guarantee or the relevant procedures have been performed as required, the Customs shall release the goods.

8. When conformity assessment institutions from outside the mainland of China apply for the qualification of conformity assessment institutions in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, according to the specific requirements of the State Administration for Market Regulation for the pilot certification qualification, the same or equivalent procedures, standards and other conditions for domestic conformity assessment institutions shall apply.

9. Where enterprises import products of information technology equipment in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, according to the specific work requirements of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the certification institutions shall, after accepting the self-declaration materials on conformity to electromagnetic compatibility standards provided by the suppliers, and assessing the products’ electrical safety according to the relevant requirements of mandatory product certification, issue the mandatory product certificates, which shall mark that the electromagnetic compatibility part is a statement of conformity and explicitly indicate that the products shall be imported from Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area.

10. For enterprises to import wine from Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, their import labels are allowed to contain such descriptions or adjectives as chateau, classic, clos, cream , crusted/crusting, fine , late bottled vintage, noble , reserve, ruby, special reserve, solera, superior, sur lie, tawny, vintage or vintage character.

The Customs and the municipal department of market regulation shall, according to the relevant requirements of the Food Safety Law, the Procedures for the Administration of Import and Export Food Safety, and the General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Food, work on the compliance regulation over the label information of imported wine.

III. Promoting the Freedom and Convenience of Trade in Services

11. Where foreign-invested financial institutions apply for carrying out, in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, the new financial business that Chinese financial institutions have already carried out, the financial administrative department in Shanghai shall, according to the institution type, institution nature, licensing requirements and licensing procedures clearly defined by the national financial administrative departments for foreign-invested financial institutions to carry out the new financial services, implement the licensing for foreign-invested financial institutions to carry out the new financial services, give the foreign-invested financial institutions full national treatment and conduct prudential regulation thereover.

12. Where overseas financial institutions, investors of these institutions, and cross-border financial service providers apply for carrying out financial services in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, the financial administrative departments in Shanghai may, according to the guidance and requirements of the relevant national financial competent departments, formulate further detailed workflow for the examination and approval, optimize the administrative services, and raise the efficiency of administrative services. According to the principle of consistent treatment for domestic and foreign enterprises and individuals, the financial administrative departments in Shanghai shall make a decision within 120 days on the applications for carrying out financial services in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area submitted by the overseas financial institutions, investors of these institutions, and cross-border financial service providers, which are complete and conform to the statutory form, and shall notify the applicants thereof in time. If the decision cannot be made within the aforementioned time limit, the financial administrative departments shall notify the applicants immediately and try to make a decision within a reasonable time limit.

13. Under the guidance and support of the national financial administrative departments, the enterprises registered in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone or Lin-gang Special Area and the individuals working or living therein shall be allowed to enjoy financial services such as buying cross-border insurance, investment, etc. The specific types of overseas financial service shall be separately provided by the national financial administrative departments.

14. Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall formulate under the encouragement category an item list of overseas professionals to provide professional services, and establish the procedures for one-way recognition of overseas occupational qualification, so as to conduct the one-way recognition of the overseas occupational qualification obtained by professionals, and allow qualified professionals with overseas occupational qualification to provide professional services after the examination, approval and record-filing by the relevant departments. The municipal human resources and social security department shall guide Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area to explore the connection mechanism between the international occupational qualification system and the domestic professional and technical personnel evaluation and training system. The department shall provide convenience for the professional and technical talents with international occupational qualification certificates in professional fields to participate in the professional title evaluation in this Municipality, study the connection mode of the international occupational qualification of level evaluation type and the domestic professional title evaluation system, and explore and introduce the international evaluation standards in key areas and emerging fields.

IV. Facilitating the Temporary Entry of Business Personnel

15. For foreign-invested enterprises registered in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone or Lin-gang Special Area, the accompanying family members of their experts transferred inside may enjoy the convenience of port visa processing. The port visa processing department will process an S2 visa of one-time entry and exit with a period of stay for 30 days. After entering the mainland of China, the accompanying family members may apply for a new S2 visa with the same validity period (not more than five years) and the same duration of stay upon entry (not more than 180 days) as the visa held by the expert himself/herself. If the expert himself/herself stays in Shanghai for a long time, his/her family members may apply for a residence permit for private affairs with the same validity period.

16. The senior executives of foreign enterprises that plan to establish branches or subsidiaries in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone or Lin-gang Special Area and their accompanying family members may enjoy the convenience of port visa processing. The port visa processing department shall, according to the matters for invitation, handle an R, M or F visa for one-time entry and exit with a period of stay for 30 days for the senior executives, and an S2 visa for their accompanying family members. After their entry, qualified foreign executives may apply to the municipal public security exit-entry administrative department for a replacement of a multiple entry and exit R, M or F visa valid for not more than five years and with a period of stay for not more than 180 days upon entry. Their family members may apply for an S2 visa along with them. A foreign executive who plans to stay in Shanghai for a long term during the formal establishment of the company may apply for a residence permit for private affairs valid for not more than two years; after the formal establishment of the company, if the executive is formally sent to work in this Municipality, he/she may apply for a residence permit for work valid for not more than five years and his/her accompanying family members for a residence permit for private affairs valid for not more than five years.

V. Promoting the Healthy Development of Digital Trade

17. Where enterprises import, resell, sell or use the software oriented to the mass market (not including software used for key information infrastructure) and the products containing such software in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, their transfer or obtaining of the relevant software source code owned by enterprises or individuals shall not be taken as the conditional requirements by the relevant departments and their staff.

18. The market regulation departments of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall strengthen the research on the possible consumption risks in the new business forms and new models of digital economy and the acts with potential damage to online consumers, and based on law enforcement and judicial practices, explore the constant improvement of the system of consumer rights and interests protection.

VI. Making More Efforts to Optimize Business Environment

19. Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall allow all real and compliant transfers related to the investment of foreign investors to be freely remitted in and out without delay. The salaries and other legal income of foreign employees of foreign-invested enterprises and employees of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan may be freely remitted out according to law. No unit or individual may illegally impose restrictions on the currency, amount, the frequency of remittance in or out, etc.

20. If the purchasers of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone or Lin-gang Special Area use a single source for government purchase, the uniqueness of the suppliers shall be fully demonstrated, and the purchase shall be publicized on the Shanghai government purchase website before the purchase activities begin. When announcing the transaction result of a purchase project with a single source, the reasons for using a single source shall be explained. The financial departments of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall strengthen the supervision and inspection, and promptly correct the cases where the reasons for using a single source are not specified or not stated in a standardized manner.

21. Under the unified guidance of the National Intellectual Property Administration, the municipal intellectual property department shall link the links of relevant national patent information retrieval to the Shanghai Intellectual Property "One Thing" Integrated Service Platform to publish the query path; constantly upgrade and optimize the function of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Information Service Platform to provide more effective and accurate services for the enterprises and other business entities in Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area, and guide the intellectual property administrative departments of Pudong New Area and Lin-gang Special Area to strengthen the patent information retrieval service for enterprises and other business entities in the Zone and the Area.

22. As for the intellectual property related relief requests raised by enterprises and other business entities, the people's courts in the jurisdiction of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall, after the applicant provides the evidence reasonably available and a preliminary proof that their rights are being or are going to be infringed upon, take the relevant measures quickly according to the relevant judicial rules without listening to the statements of the other party in advance.

23. The market regulation departments of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall guide the business operators to strengthen the internal control and compliance management against unfair competition, consciously resist the acts of unfair competition, and encourage them to establish and improve the anti-unfair competition management system. In the investigation of acts of unfair competition, the departments shall provide guidance to the business operators under investigation. If the circumstances of business operators’ minor acts of unfair competition have been corrected in time and no harmful consequences have been caused, the administrative punishment shall not be imposed thereon according to law.

24. Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall, by relying on relevant associations, and chambers of commerce, support enterprises, business organizations, non-governmental organizations, etc. in the Zone and the Area to establish a voluntary mechanism (including voluntary auditing and reporting, implementation of market-based incentive measures, voluntary sharing of information and expertise, carrying out government and social capital cooperation, etc.) to raise the environmental achievements and performance, encourage them to participate in the formulation/revision of the environmental achievement and performance evaluation standards which are under the voluntary mechanism.

25. Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Lin-gang Special Area shall, by relying on relevant associations and chambers of commerce, support enterprises in the Zone and the Area to voluntarily follow the principles of corporate social responsibility in the environmental field and encourage them to issue the annual reports on corporate social responsibility.

26. The municipal human resources and social security department shall actively explore and perfect the disclosure system of labor arbitration awards, and guide the labor and personnel dispute arbitration institutions in Pudong New Area to publicize the relevant awards according to the principle that “Publication is normal and no publication is of exception”.

VII. Improving and Perfecting the Risk Prevention and Control System

27. Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration and Lin-gang Special Area Administration shall consolidate their principal responsibility, and every relevant department and unit shall concretely perform its regulatory responsibility, while urging the relevant reform, establish and perfect the supporting risk prevention and control measures, intensify the analysis and judgement of all kinds of risks, strengthen the identification of major risks and the prevention of systemic risks, and establish security risk screening, dynamic monitoring and real-time early warning mechanisms. The Administrations shall strengthen the pre-event, in-process and post-event regulation, implement a strict regulation system, innovate the regulation modes, strengthen a coordinated regulation, and perfect the regulation into a system of clear powers and responsibilities, fair and just, open and transparent, and simple but efficient. The Administrations shall refine the prevention and control measures, establish a security protection system that integrates institutions, administration and technology, and implement various administrative measures such as security review of foreign investment, export control, cyber security review, review of imported cultural product contents, anti-monopoly review, etc.

28. Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration, Lin-gang Special Area Administration, and all departments and units shall establish a security assessment mechanism, cooperate with relevant national ministries and commissions to work on the security assessment, analyze and evaluate new situations and problems in the light of the change of external environment and the trend of international situation, and promptly report major matters when confronting with them.

VIII. Safeguard Measures

29. Establishing a long-term mechanism. A working mechanism led by the Municipal Commission of Commerce shall be established, where the Municipal Development & Reform Commission, Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration, Lin-gang Special Area Administration and all relevant departments perform their respective duties and make joint effort; and the regular evaluation shall be carried out to ensure that the policies, measures and effective achievements are in place. In the process of implementation, where the central and national departments issue relevant rules and regulations, such rules and regulations shall be implemented according to the relevant provisions.

30. Strengthening the implementation of responsibilities. The Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Municipal Development & Reform Commission, Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration, Lin-gang Special Area Administration and all relevant departments shall have an in-depth understanding of the importance, urgency and complexity of aligning with the international high standard trade rules for the promotion of institutional opening, shoulder the actual responsibility, strengthen the inter-departmental collaboration, promptly research and coordinate to solve the difficult problems in the process of promotion, and take solid steps to advance the relevant work, so as to ensure that all the pilot measures are effectively implemented.

31. Strengthen training and publicity. The Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Municipal Development & Reform Commission, Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone Administration, Lin-gang Special Area Administration and all relevant departments shall carry out the policy interpretation and enterprise publicity activities systematically and regularly, and by means of the internet, television, new media, etc., widely publicize the policy connotation, highlights and application scenarios, and expand the policy awareness; strengthen policy guidance, and open a telephone number for consultation to help enterprises make good and full use of the policies according to needs.

This Implementation Plan shall be effective as of September 1, 2023.