In order to deeply integrate into the high-quality co-development of the Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, the Gansu Provincial Department of Commerce organized a study tour to the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Hainan Free Trade Port from August 12 to 15. The delegation, which included representatives from relevant departments such as the Provincial Financial Office, the Department of Industry and Information Technology, Lanzhou Customs, the Management Committee of Lanzhou New Area Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Lanzhou International Land Port Investment and Development Co., Ltd., as well as relevant divisions of the Department of Commerce, conducted on-site inspections and exchanges. The delegation visited management authorities, open platforms, and enterprises in both locations, focusing on institutional innovation, industrial upgrading, and platform development. Through field visits and symposiums, the group studied advanced concepts, successful practices, and typical experiences in the construction of high-level national pilot free trade zones, aiming to promote the replication, extension, and application of these experiences in Gansu, as well as to advance the province’s own application and development efforts.

During the visit to the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, the delegation conducted field research on the Shanghai Cross-Border E-Commerce Public Service Platform, the "Go Global" Integrated Service Platform, Dishui Lake AI Innovation Port, Yangshan Special Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the Lingang New Area Planning Exhibition Center, and the Lingang New Area Economic Development Co., Ltd. They also held discussions with the Administrative Committee of the Lingang New Area, focusing on learning from Shanghai’s advanced practices in cross-border e-commerce innovation, new trade formats, foreign investment attraction models, financial liberalization, digital economy and AI industry development, as well as the classified supervision of cargo status.?

In the Hainan Free Trade Port, the inspection team visited the Sanya Central Business District, Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and CRRC International (Hainan) Co., Ltd. to study Hainan’s advanced practices in developing specialized industrial clusters, pioneering new trade formats, establishing cross-border financial service platforms, and implementing policies such as bonded maintenance and value-added processing tariff exemptions. During the subsequent symposium, the delegation engaged in in-depth discussions with representatives from the Hainan Provincial Financial Office, Department of Industry and Information Technology, Department of Transportation, Haikou Customs, and relevant divisions of the Provincial Department of Commerce. The exchanges focused on policy measures and operational aspects of the free trade port’s customs closure preparations, multimodal transport development, smart finance, modern service industry growth, and the management of open platforms.

Zou Jun, member of the research group and Deputy Director of Gansu Provincial Department of Commerce, pointed out that during his inspection tour in Gansu, General Secretary Xi Jinping required Gansu to deeply integrate into the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative" and the development of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, play a strategic channel role in the country's opening-up to the west, and applying for the establishment of a pilot free trade zone is a key measure to implement this requirement. He expressed the hope that taking this study tour as an opportunity, Gansu will thoroughly learn from the valuable experience of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Hainan Free Trade Port in institutional opening-up, and deepen cooperation with them in policy research, experience sharing, platform connection and other fields.

The trainees expressed that the open institutional design and internationalized operational models of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and the Hainan Free Trade Port were highly inspiring and greatly beneficial. In the next step, they will actively integrate and adopt the successful practices of these two regions in line with their actual work, striving to achieve breakthroughs in areas such as investment and trade facilitation, industrial cluster development, financial opening and innovation, and optimization of regulatory models. These efforts will further strengthen the foundation for Gansu Province’s application and establishment of a pilot free trade zone.