The General Office of the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") has recently issued the Circular on Coordinating Epidemic Prevention and Control and Economic Development to Ensure Effective Work on National Economic Development Zones (the "Circular").
The Circular reads that national-level economic development zones shall take an active approach to epidemic response, prompt enterprises to resume work and production in a well-organized manner, and coordinate the resolution of practical problems encountered by enterprises in investment, production and business operations. National economic development zones are encouraged to collaborate with each other to facilitate simultaneous resumption of work and production for the industry chain. They are also required to gather together national and local policies aimed at helping enterprises get through the tough times amid the epidemic and ramp up their efforts to publicize and explain these policies, to ensure both domestic and foreign enterprises will enjoy these policies in time on an equal footing. Moreover, the Circular underscores the need to streamline and optimize the system of assessment indicators used to measure the overall development of national economic development zones, heighten the weight of assessment indicators in respect of foreign trade and foreign investment, and play their exemplary and leading role in stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment. Furthermore, the Circular calls for efforts to ensure work on soliciting, reassuring and stabilizing businesses during the special period, innovate and improve the ways to attract businesses and make good use of special funds for foreign trade and economy development to deliver a number of new investment projects.