The State Council released a circular on May 6, approving the establishment of integrated pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce in 46 cities and areas, including the Xiongan New Area.

As required by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the new zones should adhere to new development concepts and draw experience from existing zones to drive industrial upgrading and transformation, boost brand building, and propel cross-border e-commerce across the board.

The move will help stabilize the fundamental landscape of foreign trade and investment, and catalyze higher-quality development of trade, said the circular.

To create a fair and sound business environment for various market entities, the zones should be well regulated in terms of national security, quality of imported and exported commodities, and transaction risks, among others.

For orderly development, the circular required local governments to employ an innovation-driven model where the market can play a decisive role in resource allocation, and make new breakthroughs in improving mechanisms for cross-border e-commerce and related systems.

State Council departments will strengthen coordination, guidance and policy support for the integrated pilot zones, consider incorporating the cities of eligible zones into the pilot program on retail imports of cross-border e-commerce, and assist enterprises there in jointly building and sharing overseas warehouses, the circular added.