This photo taken on June 14, 2025 shows an inbound China-Europe freight train (R) and an outbound one at the border gate at Erenhot Port in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Yin Dongxun)

The State Council has issued a major plan for establishing a new pilot free trade zone (FTZ) in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, expanding the number of China's pilot FTZs to 23, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

Pilot FTZs are an important strategy in advancing China's reform and opening-up, and the establishment of the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot FTZ signals the upgrading of the country's broader FTZ strategy, and demonstrates China's firm commitment to expanding high-level opening-up and promoting high-quality development, experts noted.

The overall plan grants the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot FTZ greater autonomy in reform and encourages pioneering, integrated, and differentiated exploration. It identified 19 reform and innovation measures, including developing cross-border trade, strengthening international logistics services, improving the efficiency of technology transfer and application, and expanding external exchanges in multiple fields, according to Xinhua.

The overall plan points out that establishing China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot FTZ is a major decision made by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, and an important strategic measure to further deepen reform, promote high-level opening-up, and drive high-quality development.

According to the plan, China aims to develop the new pilot FTZ into a regional hub that connects China with external markets and serves surrounding areas by building an information exchange center, a transport and logistics center, a factor and resource allocation center, a key-field technological innovation center and an industrial cooperation center. 

The plan also stresses the need to pursue green development and strengthen ecological protection, alongside stepped-up national security and legal safeguards.

Inner Mongolia is an important bridgehead for China's opening to the north. In 2025, its total trade grew by 6.4 percent, 2.6 percentage points higher than the national average, according to customs data.

Amid growing trends of global protectionism and unilateralism, China sends a clear signal of commitment to greater opening-up through concrete actions, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

The plan follows a broader pattern of approvals for new FTZs across China, Li said, reflecting efforts to accommodate differentiated, locally tailored opening-up strategies.

Designated as an important bridgehead for China's northward opening-up, the pilot zone is set to become a high-level free trade park characterized by investment and trade facilitation, a favorable innovation ecosystem, concentrated competitive industries and active international engagement, according to the plan.

"The overall plan aims to turn Inner Mongolia's geographic advantage as a bridgehead for China's northward opening-up into institutional strength," said Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. 

Zhou told the Global Times that the plan aims to explore a model for high-level opening-up and high-quality development in border and ethnic minority areas. It also involves exploring markets in Central Asia, the Middle East, and other areas, while expanding the scope of cooperation in sectors such as the digital economy, tourism, agriculture and animal husbandry, healthcare, and education.

Zhou said that the new pilot FTZ could deliver multiple regional and international benefits. "By improving cross-border logistics and industrial linkages, the FTZ is expected to create new opportunities for neighboring countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and the China‑Mongolia‑Russia Economic Corridor, enhance the efficient use of resources, and help integrate China's border economies into broader Eurasian trade networks," he said.

The China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot FTZ covers 119.74 square kilometers and is organized into three specialized subzones designed to advance cross border trade, strategic emerging industries and regional opening-up, according to the plan. 

The Hohhot sub‑area will prioritize the development of strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, biomedicine, and next‑generation information technology, while the Manzhouli sub‑area will focus on industries such as on‑shore processing of imported resources, cross‑border tourism, cross‑border finance, and port services, according to the plan. 

In addition, the Erenhot sub‑area will emphasize international trade, international logistics, cross‑border tourism, and international medical services, developing into an important hub of the China‑Mongolia‑Russia Economic Corridor and a model of friendly cooperation with neighboring countries, per the plan.

China is leveraging its vast market advantage and, through FTZs and other platforms, actively exploring higher levels of opening-up, demonstrating its commitment to sharing development opportunities globally, Li said.