24 measures unveiled to bolster Hongqiao open hub

China has released 24 measures to support the further enhancement of Shanghai's Hongqiao International Open Hub.

The National Development and Reform Commission recently issued the "Policy Measures to Support the Further Enhancement of Hongqiao International Open Hub."

With the approval of the State Council, the document consists of three parts and includes 24 measures, aimed at strengthening the core of the Hongqiao Central Business District and driving the integrated development of the entire Yangtze River Delta region.

For example, one of the measures proposes the promotion of mutual recognition of smart connected vehicle testing licenses and test results within the Hongqiao International Open Hub area. This will facilitate the development and testing of smart connected vehicles, allowing for cross-provincial and cross-city road testing in the Hongqiao-Kunshan-Xiangcheng, Jiading-Kunshan-Taicang and other areas.

Another significant measure is the support for the Hongqiao CBD in becoming a leading area for "Silk Road e-commerce" cooperation, to make it pioneer cooperation with relevant countries to pilot international high-standard e-commerce rules.

Eligible companies within the CBD will be allowed to pilot the policy of integrating domestic and foreign currency funds for multinational corporations.

This will enable the MNC sponsors (domestic companies with independent legal personality that have been authorized by an MNC to fulfill the responsibilities of main business filing, implementation, data reporting, and feedback) to purchase foreign exchange within certain limits, while facilitating cross-border centralized payment and settlement transactions for overseas member enterprises. The move will grant enterprises more autonomy in capital exchange.

Meanwhile, it will support Shanghai and Suzhou in neighboring Jiangsu Province to jointly carry out the digital yuan pilot program, promoting the opening and interconnected application of innovative scenarios. Also among the measures is a plan to optimize computing power distribution in the two data center clusters of the Yangtze River Delta Eco-Green Integration Demonstration Zone and Wuhu, Anhui Province.