On February 27, Hu Chunhua, secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Ma Xingrui, governor of Guangdong, visited Nansha, Guangzhou, to make investigation in the construction of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), and emphasized to carry through the important instructive spirits of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, accelerate construction of the FTZ and build Guangdong into a high-level opening-up portal hub.

 

Hu Chunhua and Ma Xingrui visited docks of Nansha Port, Port Joint Inspection Building, South Extension of Metro Line 4, cruise terminal construction site, citizen square of Jiaomen River Central Area, and the southern headquarters of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, made field investigation in the progresses of the FTZ construction and listened to the working report. Hu Chunhua fully confirmed that the urban center of Nansha Area has taken shape, the economic development has kept a good momentum, important infrastructure project construction has accelerated, and international cooperation and exchanges have become increasingly closer, and new breakthroughs have been made in the reform and innovation. Remarkable results have been achieved in the construction of various aspects.

 

Hu Chunhua pointed out that Xi has made important instructions on the occasion of the 3^rd anniversary of the establishment of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone at the end of last year, emphasized that efforts should be made to continuously emancipate thinking, make breakthroughs bravely, act as a model effectively, find out the short slabs and deficits in line with the highest standards, study the key goals and tasks in the next phase, and try boldly and reform independently. We should earnestly carry through the instructions and continuously promote the FTZ construction to maintain and accelerate the development momentum and turn the ambitious blueprint into reality as soon as possible.

 

Hu Chunhua emphasized to build the FTZ into a high-level opening up portal hub. Nansha should center on the positioning as the portal hub, spare no efforts in promoting construction of “one city and three centers” to build Nansha into a high-level international city and center of international shipping, trade and finance, and “sub-center” of Guangzhou to support and lead the new round of opening up of Guangdong Province. Efforts should be made to build Nansha into the traffic center of the Pearl River Delta, accelerate construction of the high-speed railway, metro line and expressway projects, shorten the commuting time with Guangzhou downtown, enable access to major cities on the east and west banks of the Pearl River, grow the Guangzhou Port stronger, and accelerate resource integration of the ports on the river and the sea. Measures should be taken to establish an industrial system that matches the portal hub positioning, integrate and make good use of the domestic and international high-end elements and resources, develop the headquarters economy, vigorously introduce high-quality service enterprises and service institutions from the globe, especially from the developed countries of Europe and North America. Efforts should be made to make institutional innovation in line with the international standards, further deepen investment and trade facilitation reform, vigorously promote financial innovation, deepen reform of “power delegating and bettering services”, actively create an international business environment. We should strengthen higher-level cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao, enhance introduction of talents of various levels and service enterprises from Hong Kong and Macao, and join hands to take part in construction of the FTZ. Guangzhou and Nansha should enhance the sense of urgency, and spare no efforts, and the related departments directly under the provincial government should increase support, and related cities should timely adjust plans to match the arrangement. The provincial, municipal and district governments should work together to form a joint force of building the portal hub.

 

Ren Xuefeng, and He Zhongyou, leaders of the provincial government, attended the investigation.

 

Source: Translated from Invest Guangzhou, February 28, 2017