“四向拓展 全域開(kāi)放”推動(dòng)四川邁向開(kāi)放前沿

盛毅 左永寶

近年來(lái)，四川始終將開(kāi)放發(fā)展擺在重要戰(zhàn)略地位，把主動(dòng)對(duì)接國(guó)家開(kāi)放戰(zhàn)略，全面融入國(guó)際國(guó)內(nèi)“兩個(gè)市場(chǎng)”、充分利用國(guó)際國(guó)內(nèi)“兩種資源”，在更大范圍、更寬領(lǐng)域和更高層次上配置資源和參與國(guó)際分工等，作為推動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)持續(xù)快速發(fā)展、營(yíng)商環(huán)境不斷改善、要素效率全面提升的重要手段，錨定打造內(nèi)陸開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì)高地，“一帶一路”建設(shè)支撐帶等目標(biāo)，通過(guò)全面落實(shí)推進(jìn)新一輪西部大開(kāi)發(fā)形成新格局、建設(shè)成渝地區(qū)雙城經(jīng)濟(jì)圈開(kāi)放高地等開(kāi)放舉措，在不斷升級(jí)開(kāi)放合作戰(zhàn)略、著力推進(jìn)全域開(kāi)放中，走出了一條西部?jī)?nèi)陸大省建設(shè)開(kāi)放經(jīng)濟(jì)高地的路子。

堅(jiān)持發(fā)展開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì) ?支撐總量邁上新臺(tái)階

四川抓住向西開(kāi)放和推進(jìn)“一帶一路”建設(shè)的重大機(jī)遇，充分利用國(guó)家支持內(nèi)陸地區(qū)擴(kuò)大開(kāi)放、引導(dǎo)東部沿海部分產(chǎn)業(yè)向中西部轉(zhuǎn)移等有利條件，利用中央出臺(tái)的財(cái)稅、金融、產(chǎn)業(yè)與投資、土地、商貿(mào)、科教文化等支持政策，著力推動(dòng)外貿(mào)外資外經(jīng)發(fā)展，制訂了構(gòu)建開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì)新體制“29條”實(shí)施意見(jiàn)，實(shí)施了針對(duì)“一帶一路”國(guó)家的“251行動(dòng)計(jì)劃”，開(kāi)展了“萬(wàn)企出國(guó)門(mén)”“千企行絲路”等活動(dòng)。四川省委十一屆三次全會(huì)作出的“四向拓展、全域開(kāi)放”重大部署，更是將南向和東向的開(kāi)放合作，擺在最突出的位置，不斷擴(kuò)大與國(guó)內(nèi)外各區(qū)域的經(jīng)濟(jì)合作，開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì)不斷邁上新臺(tái)階，為經(jīng)濟(jì)總量突破5萬(wàn)億提供了強(qiáng)有力支撐。

努力擴(kuò)大對(duì)外貿(mào)易規(guī)模，奠定開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì)基礎(chǔ)。2020年四川省外貿(mào)進(jìn)出口總量較2016年翻了一番，進(jìn)出口額、出口額均居全國(guó)第8位，進(jìn)口額居全國(guó)第10位，進(jìn)出口增幅居全國(guó)第2位，對(duì)外貿(mào)易依存度上升到16.7%。2021年繼續(xù)呈現(xiàn)快速增長(zhǎng)勢(shì)頭，外貿(mào)進(jìn)出口總額達(dá)到9513.6億元，同比增長(zhǎng)17.6%，其中，出口額5708.7億元，同比增長(zhǎng)22.7%;進(jìn)口額3804.9億元，同比增長(zhǎng)10.8%，對(duì)四川經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的貢獻(xiàn)率進(jìn)一步提高。在進(jìn)出口總額中，外資企業(yè)貢獻(xiàn)了約70%，“一帶一路”20個(gè)重點(diǎn)國(guó)家的份額提高80%左右。圍繞促進(jìn)貿(mào)易創(chuàng)新發(fā)展，推動(dòng)更大規(guī)?！按ㄘ洺龃ā?，四川創(chuàng)建了多個(gè)國(guó)家級(jí)外貿(mào)轉(zhuǎn)型升級(jí)基地，獲批國(guó)家級(jí)市場(chǎng)采購(gòu)貿(mào)易試點(diǎn)、跨境電商綜合試驗(yàn)區(qū)試點(diǎn)和國(guó)家文化出口基地，服務(wù)外包、數(shù)字服務(wù)、保稅服務(wù)等新興服務(wù)貿(mào)易發(fā)展迅速，正在成為新的增長(zhǎng)點(diǎn)。

大力引進(jìn)國(guó)內(nèi)外資金，為產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展注入動(dòng)力。自2018年起，四川每年引進(jìn)資金都在萬(wàn)億元以上，上千個(gè)項(xiàng)目落戶于此，引進(jìn)的外資數(shù)量相當(dāng)于過(guò)去幾年甚至10多年的總和。2021年，四川實(shí)際利用外資115.4億美元、增長(zhǎng)14.7%，外商直接投資33.61億美元，規(guī)模居中西部首位;來(lái)川落戶世界500強(qiáng)企業(yè)新增13家、達(dá)377家，其中境外世界500強(qiáng)企業(yè)256家，均居中西部第1位。英特爾、富士康、戴爾、一汽等國(guó)內(nèi)外知名企業(yè)，紫光IC國(guó)際城、京東方6代線等一批超百億項(xiàng)目，都是四川引進(jìn)的代表企業(yè)和項(xiàng)目。外部資金的持續(xù)進(jìn)入，不僅支撐了投資的高速增長(zhǎng)，也促進(jìn)了產(chǎn)業(yè)結(jié)構(gòu)升級(jí)。據(jù)有關(guān)部門(mén)初步測(cè)算，近年來(lái)，四川省招商引資對(duì)固定資產(chǎn)投資總額的貢獻(xiàn)率近40%，對(duì)GDP的貢獻(xiàn)率在15%左右，對(duì)規(guī)模以上工業(yè)總產(chǎn)值、利稅的貢獻(xiàn)率分別為40%、25%左右。目前，四川注重引資引技引智緊密結(jié)合，鼓勵(lì)跨國(guó)公司在川設(shè)立研發(fā)中心、區(qū)域總部、結(jié)算中心等，正在加速招商引資向招商選資和引智結(jié)合轉(zhuǎn)變。

主動(dòng)推進(jìn)國(guó)際交往，拓寬對(duì)外經(jīng)濟(jì)合作領(lǐng)域。四川主動(dòng)融入和服務(wù)“一帶一路”、長(zhǎng)江經(jīng)濟(jì)帶發(fā)展，深入實(shí)施“一帶一路‘251三年行動(dòng)計(jì)劃”和國(guó)際產(chǎn)能合作“111”工程，利用礦產(chǎn)、農(nóng)特產(chǎn)品、文化旅游資源豐富，制造業(yè)門(mén)類(lèi)多、市場(chǎng)潛力大和位于亞歐重要交通樞紐等優(yōu)勢(shì)，持續(xù)擴(kuò)大與歐洲、中亞、東南亞、南亞等區(qū)域合作。加快推進(jìn)中德（蒲江）中小企業(yè)合作園、中韓創(chuàng)新創(chuàng)業(yè)園、成都中法生態(tài)園等國(guó)別園區(qū)、“中國(guó)-歐洲中心”等建設(shè)，引導(dǎo)建設(shè)世界級(jí)產(chǎn)業(yè)園區(qū)和創(chuàng)新研發(fā)中心。同時(shí)加強(qiáng)西博會(huì)等各類(lèi)國(guó)內(nèi)外展會(huì)的宣傳組織，全面搭建開(kāi)放交流合作平臺(tái)。舉辦G20財(cái)長(zhǎng)和央行行長(zhǎng)會(huì)、《財(cái)富》全球論壇、中外知名企業(yè)四川行、世界華商大會(huì)、四川全球推介等系列投資促進(jìn)活動(dòng)，其中，“中國(guó)—?dú)W盟投資貿(mào)易科技合作洽談會(huì)”已成功舉辦13屆，成為中國(guó)西部全面開(kāi)展對(duì)歐合作的重要平臺(tái)和國(guó)際會(huì)議品牌。通過(guò)這些努力，四川的對(duì)外工程承包、科技文化交流、人才交往、對(duì)外投資合作等都呈現(xiàn)全面提速態(tài)勢(shì)。其中，對(duì)外承包工程完成營(yíng)業(yè)額近百億美元，居全國(guó)前5位。累計(jì)新批境外投資企業(yè)超過(guò)1000家，對(duì)外投資總額超過(guò)100億美元。目前四川已與220多個(gè)國(guó)家和地區(qū)建立了經(jīng)貿(mào)關(guān)系，成為歐盟及其他國(guó)家進(jìn)入中國(guó)的大門(mén);國(guó)際友城遍及世界五大洲，數(shù)量位居中西部第1;外國(guó)獲批在川設(shè)立領(lǐng)事機(jī)構(gòu)共21家，位列全國(guó)內(nèi)地第3，等等，這些數(shù)據(jù)充分顯示了四川與全球的聯(lián)系越來(lái)越緊密。

堅(jiān)持完善制度規(guī)則 ?構(gòu)建便利自由營(yíng)商環(huán)境

進(jìn)入構(gòu)建多層次、全方位、立體開(kāi)放格局，加快建設(shè)開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì)階段后，四川為發(fā)展更高層次的開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì)，根據(jù)自身的區(qū)位條件和要素、資源及產(chǎn)業(yè)特色，加大了制度創(chuàng)新力度，下大力氣解決影響和制約開(kāi)放發(fā)展中的問(wèn)題，出臺(tái)《四川省深化“放管服”改革優(yōu)化營(yíng)商環(huán)境行動(dòng)計(jì)劃（2019—2020年）》等，按照努力將四川打造成為中西部國(guó)際化營(yíng)商環(huán)境高地的目標(biāo)，持續(xù)推進(jìn)簡(jiǎn)政放權(quán)、堅(jiān)持提高放管結(jié)合水平、不斷優(yōu)化服務(wù)等改革，著力完善管理制度和政府服務(wù)，加強(qiáng)與沿海沿邊沿江地區(qū)的協(xié)同開(kāi)放，初步形成了國(guó)際化營(yíng)商環(huán)境。

便利化水平顯著提升，外來(lái)投資企業(yè)辦事更便捷。近年來(lái)，四川省委省政府出臺(tái)了一系列營(yíng)商環(huán)境建設(shè)的政策文件，注重增強(qiáng)各級(jí)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)干部開(kāi)放意識(shí)，加強(qiáng)誠(chéng)信政府建設(shè)，推出了多項(xiàng)受市場(chǎng)主體歡迎的舉措，使企業(yè)辦事更加便利和高效，其中開(kāi)辦企業(yè)的流程和時(shí)間大大縮減，企業(yè)注冊(cè)最快只需要1小時(shí)。開(kāi)展各市（州）開(kāi)放競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力評(píng)價(jià)，倒逼各地加快營(yíng)造便利化營(yíng)商環(huán)境。先后制訂構(gòu)建開(kāi)放型經(jīng)濟(jì)新體制“29條”實(shí)施意見(jiàn)，出臺(tái)外商投資管理體制改革12條和支持外商投資企業(yè)發(fā)展8條措施，尤其是外商投資準(zhǔn)入領(lǐng)域進(jìn)一步放寬，企業(yè)稅費(fèi)負(fù)擔(dān)有所下降，激勵(lì)了國(guó)內(nèi)外投資主體的熱情，市場(chǎng)主體保持年均近兩位數(shù)增長(zhǎng)。

制度規(guī)則等開(kāi)放度提高，市場(chǎng)主體的自主權(quán)增多。一方面抓好注重國(guó)家下放行政審批事項(xiàng)的承接落實(shí)，促進(jìn)省直相關(guān)部門(mén)主動(dòng)與國(guó)家部委對(duì)接，及時(shí)將其納入四川省政務(wù)服務(wù)中心辦理。另一方面是清理規(guī)范地方行政許可事項(xiàng)和清理非行政許可事項(xiàng)，精簡(jiǎn)行政審批前置條件、規(guī)范行政審批收費(fèi)，全面推進(jìn)行政權(quán)力的清理、認(rèn)定和公布等工作，最大限度下放審批事項(xiàng)，規(guī)范行政執(zhí)法裁量權(quán)，省本級(jí)保留的行政審批事項(xiàng)在全國(guó)最少。同時(shí)建立多部門(mén)橫向聯(lián)合和省、市、縣縱向聯(lián)動(dòng)審批機(jī)制，在全國(guó)率先成立審改處來(lái)推進(jìn)行政審批制度改革。進(jìn)一步整合、建立統(tǒng)一規(guī)范的公共資源交易平臺(tái)和制度，引進(jìn)電子化交易手段，優(yōu)化電子政務(wù)大廳運(yùn)行，建立統(tǒng)一基礎(chǔ)平臺(tái)、監(jiān)察平臺(tái)和監(jiān)督體系。

努力“種”好自貿(mào)試驗(yàn)田，探索制度創(chuàng)新的四川樣本。四川自貿(mào)試驗(yàn)區(qū)自2017年4月掛牌運(yùn)行以來(lái)，按照中央確立的總體目標(biāo)和功能定位，在統(tǒng)籌雙向投資合作、推動(dòng)貿(mào)易便利化、深化金融領(lǐng)域改革創(chuàng)新、推動(dòng)內(nèi)陸與沿海沿邊沿江協(xié)同開(kāi)放等6大領(lǐng)域，推出了一批制度和規(guī)則試驗(yàn)，在深化行政管理體制改革、減少政府對(duì)微觀經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)的干預(yù)、營(yíng)造法治化市場(chǎng)化營(yíng)商環(huán)境等方面，有不少創(chuàng)新舉措。中央賦予的159項(xiàng)改革任務(wù)基本完成，共形成500余個(gè)制度創(chuàng)新成果，其中，多式聯(lián)運(yùn)“一單制”“中歐班列集拼集運(yùn)新模式”“鐵路提單信用證融資結(jié)算”等創(chuàng)新實(shí)踐，已經(jīng)向全國(guó)復(fù)制推廣。制度環(huán)境的優(yōu)化，吸引了大量企業(yè)投資。截至2021年4月1日，四川自貿(mào)區(qū)累計(jì)新設(shè)企業(yè)14萬(wàn)家，注冊(cè)資本超過(guò)1.5萬(wàn)億元，新增外商投資企業(yè)1349家，外貿(mào)進(jìn)出口總額超過(guò)2700億元。自貿(mào)區(qū)新設(shè)外商投資企業(yè)數(shù)、貨物進(jìn)出口額、新增市場(chǎng)主體數(shù)分別占全省的近1/3、1/10和1/20，其中，成都高新綜保區(qū)進(jìn)出口額排名全國(guó)第一。為發(fā)揮自貿(mào)區(qū)在全省的輻射帶動(dòng)作用，四川先后設(shè)立了宜賓、德陽(yáng)等協(xié)同改革先行區(qū)，進(jìn)一步拓展了試點(diǎn)區(qū)域范圍。

堅(jiān)持跨區(qū)域優(yōu)化配置資源 ?提高要素生產(chǎn)率

為培育發(fā)展新動(dòng)能，四川把經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)的發(fā)展置于廣闊的國(guó)際空間來(lái)謀劃，不斷獲得推動(dòng)發(fā)展所必需的資源要素、市場(chǎng)機(jī)遇和先進(jìn)經(jīng)驗(yàn)，大力推進(jìn)要素跨區(qū)域流動(dòng)和優(yōu)化整合。

川渝合作達(dá)成許多協(xié)議，共建深入到諸多領(lǐng)域。自中央推出成渝地區(qū)雙城經(jīng)濟(jì)圈建設(shè)以來(lái)的兩年時(shí)間里，四川重慶黨政聯(lián)席會(huì)議已經(jīng)召開(kāi)4次。按照建設(shè)成為具有全國(guó)影響力的重要經(jīng)濟(jì)中心、科技創(chuàng)新中心、改革開(kāi)放新高地、高品質(zhì)生活宜居地的目標(biāo)，四川將重點(diǎn)圍繞建設(shè)開(kāi)放高地的目標(biāo)，與重慶合力打造區(qū)域協(xié)作的高水平樣板，大力推進(jìn)160個(gè)共建重大項(xiàng)目落實(shí)，加快建設(shè)成渝中線高鐵等項(xiàng)目，協(xié)同推進(jìn)20個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)合作示范園區(qū)建設(shè)，實(shí)施一批便捷生活行動(dòng)和“川渝通辦”事項(xiàng)，在共建綜合交通體系、科技創(chuàng)新中心、世界級(jí)產(chǎn)業(yè)集群、西部金融中心、巴蜀文化旅游走廊、工業(yè)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)一體化發(fā)展示范區(qū)、口岸物流體系、公共服務(wù)等方面，取得突破性進(jìn)展。

與國(guó)內(nèi)外合作形式多樣，部分項(xiàng)目進(jìn)入落實(shí)階段。四川省加強(qiáng)與西南地區(qū)、長(zhǎng)三角、珠三角等區(qū)域的經(jīng)濟(jì)合作，先后與幾十個(gè)省市簽署了區(qū)域合作協(xié)議，與重慶、廣東、浙江、廣西等建立常態(tài)化合作機(jī)制。尤其注重融入長(zhǎng)江經(jīng)濟(jì)帶建設(shè)，加強(qiáng)與沿江各省區(qū)市聯(lián)動(dòng)，積極拓展與泛珠各省區(qū)市的交流，進(jìn)一步深化產(chǎn)業(yè)、市場(chǎng)等領(lǐng)域合作，許多市（州）與東部相關(guān)城市共建了合作產(chǎn)業(yè)園區(qū)。此外，在推動(dòng)與各區(qū)域開(kāi)展要素、資源等合作，與長(zhǎng)江沿線各省區(qū)市共建沿江綜合立體交通走廊，與廣西、貴州、云南共建西部陸海新通道以及海關(guān)、多式聯(lián)運(yùn)等專(zhuān)項(xiàng)協(xié)議，與重慶、武漢等口岸簽署通關(guān)、監(jiān)管一體化和航運(yùn)資源共享協(xié)議，與烏魯木齊、蘭州等聯(lián)動(dòng)試驗(yàn)中歐班列集拼集運(yùn)，積極推進(jìn)川浙、川粵從東西部扶貧協(xié)作向深化多領(lǐng)域合作轉(zhuǎn)變，等等。

突破不靠海不沿邊制約，構(gòu)建空鐵水公通道體系。通過(guò)打造陸?；?jì)、東西暢達(dá)、南北貫通”四向八廊“綜合交通走廊和對(duì)外經(jīng)濟(jì)走廊，四川已建成出川大通道40條，在東南西北四個(gè)方向上，都有高速公路和鐵路與京津冀、長(zhǎng)三角、粵港澳大灣區(qū)、北部灣經(jīng)濟(jì)區(qū)、西南和西北各省區(qū)市相連接。其中，南向進(jìn)出川鐵路通道4條、高速公路通道8條，可以通達(dá)廣西北部灣、粵港澳大灣區(qū)。與重慶共同創(chuàng)立的中歐班列（成渝）號(hào)，2021年開(kāi)行量超4800列，成為全國(guó)開(kāi)行量最多、運(yùn)達(dá)區(qū)域最廣、運(yùn)行最穩(wěn)定的貨運(yùn)班列。南向國(guó)際班列取得歷史性突破，呈現(xiàn)快速增長(zhǎng)勢(shì)頭。天府國(guó)際機(jī)場(chǎng)建成通航，雙流國(guó)際機(jī)場(chǎng)開(kāi)通國(guó)內(nèi)外航線數(shù)量增多，使空中通道廣泛連接到全球更多國(guó)家。長(zhǎng)江水運(yùn)能力日益提高，經(jīng)水路拓展至重慶、長(zhǎng)三角、珠三角、環(huán)渤海等以及至日本、韓國(guó)等30余條江海、鐵海聯(lián)運(yùn)航線穩(wěn)定運(yùn)行。

In recent years， Sichuan Province has always taken opening-up as an important strategy for development. It has striven to promote sustained and rapid economic development， continuous improvement in the business environment and overall improvement in factor efficiency. To attain these goals， the province has made great efforts to proactively dovetail with the national strategy of opening-up， fully integrate into the domestic and international markets， make full use of both domestic and international resources， and allocate resources and participate in the international division of labor on a broader scale， in a broader field and at a higher level. The province has also set itself targets of building a leading area of opening-up in the inland regions and a service belt to support the Belt and Road construction. By thoroughly boosting the new-round development of Chinas western region and building a leading area for the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle， Sichuan， as a large inland province in western China， has been upgrading its cooperation strategies for opening-up and vigorously advancing region-based opening-up in a bid to build a leading area of the countrys opening-up in the inland regions.

Continuing development of an open economy to achieve considerable growth

Seizing the major opportunities of opening to western China and advancing the Belt and Road construction， Sichuan has also fully leveraged relevant national strategies， including the support for greater inland openness and the encouragement to transfer part of the eastern coastal industries to the central and western regions. With the support of national policies in such fields as fiscal taxation， finance， industries and investment， land， commerce and trade， science， education and culture， the province has endeavored to promote foreign trade， foreign investment and foreign economic development. It has formulated 29 implementation opinions on establishing new systems for developing an open economy， implemented the “251 Action Plan” for countries along the Belt and Road， and carried out activities like “10，000 Enterprises Go Abroad” and “1，000 Enterprises Expand Markets along Silk Road”. The plan of “four-direction， region-based opening-up”， made by the 3rd plenary session of the 11th CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee， puts cooperation in opening towards the southern and eastern regions in the most prominent position. As the province keeps expanding economic cooperation with domestic and foreign regions， the open economy has reached several new heights and the regional GDP has exceeded five trillion yuan.

Sichuans hard effort to expand foreign trade has laid a foundation for the development of the open economy. Sichuans total volume of imports and exports in 2020 doubled that in 2016. Both the import-export value and the export value ranked 8th in the country while the import value ranked 10th. The growth rate of imports and exports ranked 2nd and the ratio of dependence on foreign trade rose to 16.7%. In 2021， the foreign trade witnessed continuous rapid growth， with the total value amounting to 951.36 billion yuan， up 17.6% year on year. The value of exports and imports expanded 22.7% and 10.8% respectively to reach 570.87 billion yuan and 380.49 billion yuan， further increasing the contribution to the provinces economic growth. Foreign-funded enterprises contributed about 70% to the total value of foreign trade and the contribution rate of the 20 major countries along the Belt and Road rose to 80%. Focusing on promoting innovative development of trade and expanding export of Sichuans products， the province has erected several national-level bases for foreign trade transformation and upgrading. Besides， the province has been approved of building a national-level area of pilot market procurement trade， a comprehensive pilot zone for cross-border e-commerce and a national cultural export base. Service outsourcing， digital services， bonded services and other emerging services trade are becoming new growth drivers that are developing rapidly.

Sichuan has injected impetus into industrial development by vigorously introducing domestic and foreign funds. Since 2018， more than 1，000 projects have been launched in Sichuan every year and the funds introduced annually by the province have topped one trillion yuan， equaling or even exceeding the total funds introduced in the past years or a decade. Sichuans paid-in foreign investment in 2021 amounted to USD 11.54 billion， with a year-on-year growth of 14.7%. Among it， the foreign direct investment reached USD 3.361 billion， ranking 1st in central and western China. In addition， the total number of Fortune 500 companies in Sichuan increased by 13 to reach 377， including 256 from regions outside the Chinese mainland， ranking 1st in central and western China. Representative enterprises introduced by Sichuan included Intel Corporation， Foxconn Technology Group， Dell Inc.， and China FAW Group Corporation while representative projects with an investment topping 10 billion yuan comprise an integrated circuit （IC） international city of Tsinghua Unigroup， and the 6th generation AMOLED of BOE Technology Group Co.， Ltd. The continuous introduction of external funds not only supports the rapid growth of investment， but also promotes the upgrading of the industrial structure. According to preliminary calculations of relevant departments， in recent years， the contribution rate of Sichuans investment promotion to its total fixed-asset investment， to the regional GDP， to the total industrial output value of enterprises above a designated size， and to their profits tax reached about 40%， 15%， 40%， and 25% respectively. At present， Sichuan lays emphasis on close integration of attracting investment， technology and high-caliber professionals from overseas. It encourages transnational corporations to set up research and development （R&D） centers， regional headquarters and settlement centers in the province. Besides， the province is accelerating the change from investment attraction to the combination of investment selection and high-caliber professional attraction.

Sichuan has taken the initiative to promote international exchanges and broadened the field of foreign economic cooperation. The province has proactively integrated into and served the Belt and Road and the Yangtze River Economic Belt， and deeply implemented the three-year “251 Action Plan” along the Belt and Road and the “111 Project” for international capacity cooperation. The province boasts rich mineral and agricultural products， abundant cultural and tourism resources， diversified manufacturing sectors， great market potential and the location at an important Asian-European transportation hub. By virtue of these advantages， the province keeps expanding cooperation with such regions as Europe， Central Asia， Southeast Asia and South Asia. Sichuan is speeding up the construction of the Sino-German SME Cooperation Park in Pujiang County of Chengdu， China-South Korea Innovation & Entrepreneurship Park in Chengdu， Sino-France Ecology Park in Chengdu， and Business & Innovation Centre for China-Europe Cooperation. It also encourages the building of world-class industrial parks and innovation and R&D centers. Additionally， the province is intensifying publicity and organization of various domestic and foreign events， including the Western China International Fair， and building platforms for open exchanges and cooperation. It has held various investment promotion activities， including the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting， FORTUNE Global Forum， Well-known Chinese and Foreign Enterprises Visit to Sichuan， World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention， and Global Promotion Event of Sichuan. The EU-China Business & Technology Cooperation Fair， with 13 sessions held successfully， has become an important platform and international conference brand for western Chinas comprehensive cooperation with Europe. Through these efforts， foreign engineering contracting， sci-tech and cultural exchanges， talent exchanges， foreign investment cooperation and other aspects in Sichuan have all sped up. Among them， foreign engineering contracting has achieved a turnover of nearly USD 10 billion， ranking in the top 5 in China. Sichuan has approved the establishment of more than 1，000 new overseas investment enterprises， with the total foreign investment exceeding USD 10 billion. It has established economic and trade relations with more than 220 countries and regions and has become the gateway to China for the European Union （EU） members and other countries. International sister cities of the province cover five continents of the world， with the number ranking 1st in central and western China. There are 21 foreign consulates in the province， ranking 3rd in the Chinese mainland. These figures fully demonstrate the increasingly close connection of Sichuan with the world.

Improving rules and regulations to build a convenient and free business environment

Since the start of opening-up in a comprehensive， multilevel， multifaceted way and the accelerated building of an open economy， Sichuan has striven for higher-level development of the open economy. To achieve this goal， the province has strengthened system innovation and made greater efforts to resolve problems that hinder or constrain open development based on its location conditions and elements， resources， and industrial features. It has also rolled out several documents， including the Action Plan of Sichuan Province for Improving Business Environment by Deepening the Reforms to “Streamline Administration and Delegate Power， Improve Regulation and Upgrade Services” （2019-2020）. To build the province into a leading area with an international business environment in central and western China， Sichuan has been making continuous efforts to streamline administration and delegate power， improve regulation， and upgrade services， striving to improve the management system and government services， and strengthening coordinated opening-up with regions along the coast， the border and the river. As a result， an international business environment has taken shape.

As the facilitation was enhanced significantly， investment related business handling for foreign enterprises in Sichuan has become more convenient. In recent years， the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and the Peoples Government of Sichuan Province have issued a lot of policy documents on the construction of the business environment， focusing on enhancing the awareness of openness among leading cadres at all levels and strengthening the building of an honest government. They have put forward a number of initiatives popular with market entities to make business handling more convenient and efficient. The processes to start a business have been greatly reduced， with the shortest business registration duration of only one hour. As Sichuan implements the evaluation of competitiveness in opening-up among its cities （prefectures）， all localities have to expedite the building of a convenient business environment. The province has formulated 29 implementation opinions on establishing new systems for developing an open economy， rolled out 12 measures to reform the foreign investment management system and eight measures to support the development of foreign-funded enterprises. Moreover， it has further relaxed rules for foreign investment in more fields and eased the burden of taxes and fees on enterprises， which stimulated the enthusiasm of domestic and foreign investment entities， thus maintaining an annual average of nearly double-digit increase in the number of market entities.

With the increased openness of rules and regulations， Sichuan has given market entities more autonomous rights. The province has implemented the administrative approval items delegated by the state， promoted proactive interaction of provincial departments with national ministries and commissions and promptly included the items into the services of Sichuan Provincial Government Service Center. Besides， the province has abolished and standardized some administrative and non-administrative license examinations and approvals， streamlined preconditions for administrative examinations and approvals and standardized related fees. It has also comprehensively promoted the deprivation， identification and proclamation of administrative power， maximized the delegation of items to be examined and approved， standardized administrative discretion， and retained the fewest items to be examined and approved at the provincial level in the country. In addition， the province has established a mechanism for examinations and approvals jointly carried out by multiple departments at the county， municipal and provincial levels and taken the lead in setting up an examination and approval system reform department in the country to advance related reforms. Through further integration， it has established a unified and standardized trading platform and system for public resources， introduced electronic means of transactions， optimized the operation of the e-government hall， and established a unified basic platform， monitoring platform and supervision system.

Sichuan has striven to build an exemplary pilot free trade zone and explore a new mode of system innovation. Since China （Sichuan） Pilot Free Trade Zone was put into operation in April 2017， it has launched a number of system and rule experiments in six fields in accordance with the overall objectives and functions determined by the central government. The six fields include coordinating two-way investment cooperation， facilitating trade facilitation， deepening reform and innovation in the financial sector， and promoting coordinated opening-up of the inland regions with regions along the coast， the border and the river. The province has taken many innovative measures to deepen the reform of the administrative system， reduce government intervention in microeconomic activities， and create a law-based， market-oriented business environment. The 159 reform tasks given by the central government have been basically completed， and more than 500 results in system innovation have been formed. Some innovative methods have been replicated to the whole country， including multi-modal transport under one single bill of lading， a new collection and consolidation mode for China-Europe Railway Express trains， and financing settlement by railway bill of lading letter of credit. The improvement of the institutional environment has helped Sichuan to attract substantial corporate investment. As of April 1， 2021， a total of 140，000 new enterprises had been established in China （Sichuan） Pilot Free Trade Zone， with the registered capital topping 1.5 trillion yuan. Besides， 1，349 new foreign-funded enterprises had been set up， with the total value of foreign trade exceeding 270 billion yuan. The number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises， the import and export volume of goods， and the number of new market entities in China （Sichuan） Pilot Free Trade Zone account for nearly one-third， one-tenth and one-twentieth of those in Sichuan respectively. Chengdu Hi-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone ranks first in the country in terms of the import and export volume. To give full play to the leading role of China （Sichuan） Pilot Free Trade Zone in Sichuan， pilot zones for collaborative reform in Yibin and Deyang have been successively established to further expand the scope of pilot zones.

Optimizing cross-regional allocation of resources to improve factor productivity

To foster new drivers for development， Sichuan plans its economic and social development from a global perspective， continuously obtains necessary resource factors， market opportunities and advanced experience to promote development， and catalyzes the cross-regional flow， optimization and integration of factors.

Many agreements have been reached to deepen Sichuan-Chongqing cooperation on regional co-construction in different fields. In the two years since the central government proposed the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle， the party-administration joint meeting between Sichuan and Chongqing has been held four times. Efforts will be made to build Sichuan into an important economic center with national influence， a technological innovation center， a new pioneer for reform and opening-up， and a livable place for high-quality life. Sichuan will strive to serve as a hub for opening-up， work with Chongqing to create a high-level model of regional cooperation， and implement 160 major co-construction projects. It will also accelerate the implementation of projects like the Second Chengdu-Chongqing High-speed Railway， contribute to the construction of 20 industrial cooperation demonstration parks， and launch a number of convenient living activities and Sichuan-Chongqing inter-regional government services. In this way， headway will be made in jointly building a comprehensive transportation system， a technological innovation center， a world-class industrial cluster， a western financial center， the Bashu Cultural Tourism Corridor， a demonstration zone for the integrated development of the industrial internet， a port logistics system， and in offering public services.

Through various forms of domestic and foreign cooperation， some projects are being implemented. Sichuan has strengthened economic cooperation with Southwest China， the Yangtze River Delta， the Pearl River Delta and other regions. It has signed regional cooperation agreements with dozens of provinces and municipalities， and established regular cooperation mechanisms with Chongqing， Guangdong， Zhejiang， and Guangxi. Sichuan has paid particular attention to integrating into the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt， strengthened interaction with provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities along the Yangtze River， expanded exchanges with provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities in the Pan-Pearl River Delta， and further deepened cooperation in industries， markets and other fields. Many cities （autonomous prefectures） in Sichuan have joined hands with eastern cities to build cooperative industrial parks. Sichuan has also enhanced its cooperation with other regions in factors and resources. For example， Sichuan has built a comprehensive transportation corridor along the Yangtze River with provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities along the river; built the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor （ILSTC） and signed agreements on customs and multimodal transport with Guangxi， Guizhou and Yunnan; signed agreements on customs clearance， supervision integration and shipping resource sharing with ports in Chongqing and Wuhan; joined forces with Urumqi and Lanzhou to test the collection and consolidation mode of China-Europe Railway Express; and promoted its cooperation with Zhejiang and Guangdong from poverty alleviation to in-depth and multi-field cooperation.

Through overcoming the constraints of the inland location， an air-rail-water-road transport system has been built. By building the “Eight Corridors in Four Directions” integrated transport system connecting the land and the sea and foreign economic corridors， Sichuan has completed 40 major outbound channels， and connected itself with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region， the Yangtze River Delta， the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area， the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone， and the southwest and northwest China via an extensive network of expressways and railways. Among them， there are four railways and eight expressways connecting Sichuan to the South China， with access to the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The year 2021 witnessed 4，800 trips of China-Europe Railway Express （Chengdu&Chongqing） launched by Sichuan and Chongqing， making it the freight train with the largest number of trips， the widest reach and the most stable operation in the country. The number of southbound international freight trains has shown a rapid growth， marking a historical breakthrough. The Tianfu International Airport has been put into operation， and the Shuangliu International Airport has opened more domestic and foreign air routes， connecting Sichuan to more countries. The carrying capacity of the Yangtze River is increasing day by day. More than 30 river-sea and rail-sea multimodal transport routes linking Chongqing， the Yangtze River Delta， the Pearl River Delta， the Bohai Rim， Japan and South Korea have maintained stable operation.