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BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Beijing’s first pilot program aiming at opening up and modernizing its service sector will cover eleven aspects in six areas once it is finally approved by the State Council, according to Cheng Hong, vice mayor of Beijing on Tuesday.
To echo the plan earlier approved by the State Council of China, the Ministry of Commerce and the Beijing municipal government published “Proposal on Beijing’s Pilot Program in the Open-up and Modernization of Service Sector”.
The proposal covers six key areas for reform, including science and technology, Internet and information services, culture and education, business and financial services, travel, health and medical services, Cheng said.
In the reform process, the above areas will gradually open to all kinds of capital while reducing or eliminating foreign ownership restrictions, said Liu Haiquan, assistant minister of Ministry of Commerce. Partial or overall business licensing and restrictions on business scopes will also be relaxed to achieve diversification of investment, he added. At the same time, Beijing will deepen reform of foreign investment management and actively explore the international market through the introduction of "filing system" and other innovative management methods, Liu added.
It’s reported that the pilot program will last three years, from May 5, 2015 to May 4, 2018. Various methods of bolstering the market vitality will be explored, such as relaxing market access, reforming regulatory mode and optimizing the market environment.
It is hoped that valuable experience will be gained during the process and Beijing’s pilot program could set a good example for other places, leading to a wider, deeper and more active open-up in China, commented Cheng Hong.
