context: Beijing sees promoting a unified national market as a way to strengthen domestic consumption and economic growth. The massive single market in the PRC is also believed to be an important tool to entice foreign businesses and reinforce Beijing's negotiating position abroad.
The level of development and the availability of resources are not consistent across different regions of the PRC, points out Zhou Qiang 周强 MofCOM (Ministry of Commerce) Department of Market Construction director. In constructing a unified national market, he emphasises the need for a coordinated and steady approach and highlights how initially achieving market integration on a regional level will be a prerequisite, given
- regional markets are integral parts of the unified national market
- the combined GDP of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin Cities economic circles is close to half of the country's GDP
- the spillover effects of these key regions are substantial
- these regions have advantages in transport facilities, opening platforms, exhibitions, markets and key enterprises
- they benefit nearby regions in the flow of goods, capital, information and personnel
- these regions have advantages in transport facilities, opening platforms, exhibitions, markets and key enterprises
- the key regions lead tech innovation, especially the Yangtze Delta River which started an alliance of pilot free trade zones for institutional innovation and so generated replicable successful experiences
Zhou states that MofCOM has three important directions to promote the market integration of the Yangtze River Delta
- constructing integration mechanisms to promote regional business collaboration
- Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi commerce departments have signed business cooperation agreements
- Sichuan and Chongqing commercial departments have also signed a cooperation framework agreement
- the Yangtze River Delta Agreement on business development cooperation is in line with these developments
- alignment of rules and systems to promote regional connection
- the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has formed the first batch of 20 typical cases of rules alignment
- MofCOM will further promote the improvement of rules and systems in each region to connect with high-standard economic and trade rules
- interconnection and interoperability of commercial and trade facilities
- for next steps, MofCOM will focus on
- supply chain innovation and application
- innovative development of trade and commerce circulation
- standardisation and digitisation of logistics
- for next steps, MofCOM will focus on
- development of new industries and modes to transform and upgrade the regional economy
- MofCOM will accelerate the digitisation of commerce and trade, focusing on the integration of
- online and offline commerce
- domestic and foreign trade
- MofCOM will accelerate the digitisation of commerce and trade, focusing on the integration of