The Information Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Government held the second news conference on April 16 to honor the reform and innovation achievements of the China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) on the third anniversary of its construction.

At the news conference, Li Qungang, member of the Party group of the Xi'an commerce bureau and full-time deputy director of the Xi'an management committee of the Shaanxi FTZ, gave a briefing on the reforms and innovation in the Xi'an area of the Shaanxi FTZ.

Shaanxi FTZ is established on April 1, 2017. [Photo/Xi'an municipal government's Wechat public account]

Over the past three years, officials said the Xi'an area has presided over 247 innovations in terms of government functional transformation, investment field reforms, trade transformation and upgrading and financial service opening.

Of the total innovations, nine were praised by the State Council and government ministries. Some 20 were replicated and promoted elsewhere in the province and five were selected as a "Best Practice Case" in the Shaanxi FTZ.

The Xi'an area also accelerated the construction of an international, market-oriented and rule-of-law business environment, achieving fair competition among various market players.

It implemented a "package-style" service for new taxpayers and reduced the tax processing time by more than 50 percent.

The Xi'an area of the Shaanxi FTZ is a hotbed of innovation. It has presided over 247 innovations over the past three years. [Photo/Xi'an municipal government's Wechat public account]

It also extended government services to business cluster areas and residential areas. Its "Quanzheng Tonggang" self-service letter box covers 1,345 points in the city, providing convenient channels for enterprises to handle affairs.

In 2019, the total import and export value of the Xi'an area amounted to 246.92 billion yuan ($34.89 billion), accounting for 76.1 percent of Xi'an's total and 70.2 percent of Shaanxi's total.

In addition, the Xi'an area boosted multi-level economic trade and commerce with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), officials said.

The functions area of the Xi'an International Trade and Logistics Park of the Shaanxi FTZ. [Photo/Xi'an municipal government's Wechat public account]

It established a Belt and Road Trade House, showcasing more than 3,500 commodities from 34 countries involved in the BRI.

Focusing on the strategic positioning of the Shaanxi FTZ, the Xi'an area also accelerated the reform of the financial sector to improve its quality and efficiency for serving the real economy.

By the end of 2019, 46,001 new market players had settled in the Xi'an area, with a registered capital of 527.01 billion yuan, among which 358 were foreign-invested enterprises with a registered capital of $1.48 billion.