Beijing’s E-Town Rolls Out Favorable Policies to Boost High-Tech Development

Posted by Written by Zoey Zhang Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area, also known as ‘Beijing E-Town’, recently rolled out a package of preferential policies to boost the high-end industries in its pilot free trade zone (FTZ).

Consisting of 30 specific measures, the policy package will provide financial support of RMB 10 million to RMB 100 million (US$1.54 million to US$15.4 million) for project implementation in the area’s leading industries, relevant R&D efforts, technological achievement transformation, and the building of relevant service platforms.

Target industries

By rolling out the favorable measures, Beijing E-Town aims to boost its four leading industries:

  • New-generation information technology (NGIT)
  • Luxury cars and new-energy vehicles (NEVs)
  • Biotechnology and comprehensive health care services
  • Smart manufacturing

Meanwhile, it aims to improve its high-end service industry, promote the integration of its sci-tech and cultural sectors, and focus on building its digital economy.

Funding support for leading industries and services

Specifically, Beijing E-Town plans to support more than 10 advanced NGIT application demonstration projects every year, with funding support of up to RMB 100 million (US$15.4 million) for each project, to promote the application of technologies related to 5G, internet of things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data.

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Leading enterprises in new energy or high-end automotive industries that drive the formulation of industrial clusters worth hundreds of billions RMB will also be given capital support of no more than RMB 100 million (US$15.4 million).

A similar amount of funding will also be granted to national laboratories national innovation centers for technological, industrial, and manufacturing.

In the fields of finance and sci-tech business services, a RMB 500 million (US$76.8 million) fund will be set aside each year to attract relevant talents, support leading enterprises to develop platforms for the sharing of key resources, establish the Internet Plus cloud platforms, and encourage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in sci-tech award competitions.

Foreign investment in Beijing E-Town

Beijing E-Town was listed as a high-end industrial zone in China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone last September. Since then, favorable policies launched by the government have multiplied, giving full play to Beijing E-Town’s competitive edge.

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Last year, Beijing E-Town stepped up its services for foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), encouraging them to increase investment and production. AstraZeneca plc, GE Healthcare, and Pony.ai have established their regional or R&D headquarters here. SMC Corporation, a leading pneumatics company dedicated to factory automation, has also announced the opening of its China headquarters in Beijing E-Town.

According to preliminary statistics, in 2020, the total utilized foreign capital in the area reached US$620 million, an increase of 11 percent year-on-year.

The increasingly optimized business environment makes Beijing E-Town more attractive to foreign investors. The business environment has been improving steadily, partly because several municipal-level administrative items have been delegated to Yizhuang District and the time it takes to approve construction permits has been cut to one hour.

Beijing E-Town plans to attract more industry-leading companies and unicorn companies. It also promises to strengthen communication with international institutions in China as well as between Chinese and foreign chambers of commerce.

For more information on how to set up companies in Beijing E-Town and tap into the favorable measures, please feel free to email us at China@dezshira.com.

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China Briefing is written and produced by Dezan Shira & Associates. The practice assists foreign investors into China and has done so since 1992 through offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Please contact the firm for assistance in China at china@dezshira.com. 

Dezan Shira & Associates has offices in Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, United States, Germany, Italy, India, and Russia, in addition to our trade research facilities along the Belt & Road Initiative. We also have partner firms assisting foreign investors in The Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh.