China is making good progress in opening its services sector

China has introduced a series of pragmatic policies aimed at expanding the opening of its services sector, which has been widely welcomed.

On the morning of May 24, the Bahamian cruise ship Mediterranean docked at Tianjin International Home Port in Tianjin Municipality, northern China. Nearly 800 foreign tourists on the ship entered China through the port without filling out an entry card or having stamps in their passports.

Chinese and foreign tourists disembark from a ferry at the international passenger terminal in Lianyungang, east China’s Jiangsu province, May 16, 2024. (People’s Daily Online/Wang Chun)

China has reportedly implemented a policy allowing visa-free entry for foreign tour groups to board cruise ships through cruise ports along the country’s coast.

Tour groups of two or more foreigners organized or hosted by Chinese travel agencies can enter China without a visa aboard cruise ships through cruise ports in 13 Chinese cities.

In addition to the cruise tourism market, cross-border tourism is also developing dynamically this year.

Statistics showed that during the May Day holiday in 2024, China recorded 3.67 million tourist arrivals and departures, including 1.77 million arrivals and 1.89 million departures. An article published by the China Tourism Academy shows that in 2023 the number of passengers leaving China will exceed 87 million, and in 2024 this number is expected to reach 130 million.

The “two-way flow” of tourists cannot be separated from the package of high-level opening-up policies issued by China. For some time now, China has been steadily expanding its visa-free “circle of friends” to better facilitate visits by foreigners.

“The visa-free policy is beneficial for China and the global tourism market. More and more countries are granting visa-free travel to China, and the economic benefits brought by Chinese tourists can effectively promote the development of local tourism markets. At the same time, the expanding visa-free “circle of friends” also brings greater convenience to foreigners coming to China,” said Wang Yalei, an industry analyst at Ctrip Research Institute.

Foreign tourists visit Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, April 23, 2024. (People’s Daily Online/Wang Chu)

Nowadays, the service sector has become the main growth engine of the global economy. Last year, the added value of the Chinese service sector accounted for 54.6 percent. country’s GDP. In the first quarter of this year, China’s services trade grew rapidly, with total service imports and exports exceeding 1.81 trillion yuan ($249.99 billion), up 14.7 percent year-on-year.

To increase the opening of the service sector, China has managed to facilitate the flow of production factors, continuously improving the convenience of foreigners to work, study and travel in China.

The giant panda breeding research base in Chengdu in southwest China’s Sichuan Province is a popular destination for foreign tourists visiting China. At the base’s souvenir shop, an American tourist named John bought a stuffed panda toy in just a few seconds using his foreign bank card.

Payment is valid for foreigners working, studying and traveling in China. In March this year, China’s State Council issued guidelines to improve payment services for foreigners, promoting the development of necessary software and hardware to accept foreign bank cards, and supporting the development of contactless payments in a coordinated manner.

China has taken many measures to ensure that foreigners can work, live and travel comfortably in China.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce recently developed a Guide to Working and Living in China as Business Expatriates, covering issues such as residence registration, bank card, social security and transportation.

Traders attending the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair, held in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province, pose for a photo while tasting Guangdong food at a local restaurant, April 17, 2024. (People’s Daily Online/Chen Zhiqiang)

China’s Ministry of Transport is accelerating the popularization of online ticketing, promoting the use of electronic tickets, and making it easier for domestic and foreign citizens to purchase tickets online using ID cards, passports and foreign permanent residence cards.

China is pushing for a comprehensive opening of the manufacturing and service sectors in a coordinated manner. During the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, she proposed removing all restrictions on access to foreign investment in the production sector. According to the Report on the Government’s work this year, all market access restrictions for foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will be abolished and market access restrictions in service sectors such as telecommunications and health care will be reduced.

This year, in response to institutional and systemic barriers faced by the services sector in areas such as market access and industry regulation, China expanded institutional opening and accelerated governance reforms to align with high standards of international economic and trade rules.

The General Office of the State Council issued an action plan to continuously promote high-level opening up and make greater efforts to attract and leverage foreign investment, making a series of implementations to enhance the opening up of the service sector, such as continuously promoting the opening up of the telecommunications and health care sectors, and enabling wider participation of foreign financial institutions in banking and insurance.

To increase openness, the Ministry of Commerce has introduced national and pilot versions of negative lists for cross-border trade in services for free trade zones (FTZs).

“The two negative lists manage market access for cross-border trade in services in a uniform way, effectively increasing the transparency and predictability of the management of cross-border trade in services. This is a major reform of China’s services trade management system,” a ministry official noted.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)