China unveils supportive measures for Hubei FTZ to bolster economy

Unveiling ceremony of China (Hubei) Pilot Free Trade Zone is held in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2017. /Xinhua

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday announced

24 measures

expediting the development of China (Hubei) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

The measures are meant to increase the development quality of trade, optimize the business environment, build a sound market operation mechanism and deepen international economic and trade cooperation, according to MOFCOM.

In an effort to revive the province's economy and stabilize foreign trade in the post-pandemic era, the ministry will also build national bases for foreign trade transformation and upgrade and carry out pilot programs on retail imports of cross-border e-commerce.

The measures support relevant areas to build cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones and help alleviate difficulties for foreign-funded enterprises in the FTZ.

Some 13,000 new market entities in industries like semiconductors, software, new energy vehicles, and biomedicine have been set up in Hubei's FTZ.