China has decided to pilot reforms in its domestic trade and circulation system in nine cities, the State Council’s General Office said in a statement on August 6.

The General Office made the announcement to the Ministry of Commerce and the nine provincial governments where the selected cities are located.

The nine cities are: Shanghai, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Zhengzhou in Henan province, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, Chengdu in Sichuan province, Xiamen in Fujian province, Qingdao in Shandong province, Huangshi in Hubei province and Yiwu in Zhejiang province.

The municipal governments of the nine cities are required to work out plans for the pilot program, which must be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce.

The municipal governments have also been assigned tasks in four areas: to explore an innovation-driven circulation development mechanism, which highlights the role of e-commerce; establish a business environment that adheres to basic regulations, and upholds a supervisory mechanism and credit system; guide the construction of infrastructure catering for different modes in the process of circulation, including wholesale farm produce markets, community service outlets and large-scale shopping centers; improve the governments’ management.

Following a trial lasting one year, the nine cities are expected to share their experience in terms of innovative circulation mechanism, market regulation, infrastructure development, and management system, which will lay a solid foundation to build a unified domestic market, and provide valuable insights for the country’s overall reform in the domestic trade and circulation system.

The Ministry of Commerce and another eight ministries will assess the progress of the pilot program in a timely manner, and submit the results to the State Council.