Beijing Day makes city gain with $1b projects

During Beijing Day, held on the opening day of the third China International Import Expo in Shanghai, the city government and companies from the capital netted nearly 7.88 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in contracts signed.

The themed day focused on creating a new chapter for Beijing's opening-up, seeking investment from both home and abroad.

One of the major projects is the construction of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening Up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The zones will offer a major strategic opportunity for the capital's reform and opening-up, said Yan Ligang, head of the Beijing Commerce Bureau, at the event.

The State Council issued action plans for the two zones, which together comprise more than 200 policies. The move aims to provide an advantageous and convenient business environment for the innovation and development of enterprises and further improve the enterprise's sense of gain, Yan added.

Beijing's districts including Chaoyang, Haidian, Xicheng and Daxing, as well as the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, conducted special promotions on Beijing Day, which presented their innovative opening-up policies.

"Chaoyang district has become one of the most attractive international investment hubs in China," said Cui Xiaohao, deputy head of the district, at the promotion.

Gathering almost all the foreign embassies in the capital; 90 percent of international media organizations; 80 percent of international organizations and overseas chambers of commerce; 70 percent of multinational companies' headquarters; and 65 percent of foreign financial institutions, Chaoyang has become a calling card of and important access to Beijing's foreign exchanges and cooperation, Cui added.

As a host of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening Up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Chaoyang is embracing a new stage of development and is poised to forge a more open access system for foreign investment, according to Cui.

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area signed three projects at the event, comprising two investment projects and one headquarters project, with a combined contract value reaching 700 million yuan.

After 28 years of development, the area has gathered more than 30,000 domestic and foreign enterprises, with total investment value surpassing $100 billion, said Kong Lei, deputy director of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Committee.

Looking ahead, the area takes Beijing's construction of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening Up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing)Pilot Free Trade Zone as a strategic opportunity for a new round of high-quality development. It aims to forge itself into a leader in advanced industries and a service center for the industrialization of scientific and technological achievement, according to Kong.

Beijing's Haidian district, as one of the most intelligent, innovative and dynamic areas in the world, captured attention at the promotion.

Haidian is home to 33 institutions of higher learning, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, and 99 scientific research institutions.

The district has more than 10,000 national high-tech enterprises and 40 unicorn companies. Every day, nearly 100 companies are born in the district, half of which are high-tech ones.

The digital economy contributes more than 80 percent of the district's economic growth.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the district has shown its resilience in economic development due to its advantages in the digital economy.

Over the first three-quarters in 2019, the district's GDP reached 615.21 billion yuan, up 4.6 percent from the same period last year, ranking top among all districts in Beijing.