On July 3, the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province released the provincial-level institutional innovations of the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone for 2026. The fourth batch of 26 institutional innovations and facilitation measures covers seven major areas: trade facilitation, high-quality industrial development, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, financial opening-up and innovation, reforms on market-based allocation of production factors, transformation of government functions, and legal safeguards. Among them, 19 innovations are dedicated to breaking institutional constraints, filling institutional gaps, and expanding institutional boundaries, while seven measures focus on optimizing service supply and enhancing government efficiency, making government services more convenient and reassuring for businesses and the public..

With a greater emphasis on pioneering initiatives, the zone has rolled out reform measures to break down management barriers. This batch of achievements prioritizes "pioneering" rather than "imitative" reforms, achieving more "zero-to-one" institutional breakthroughs. For example, the Changsha Customs Authority, in collaboration with the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone Changsha Area, innovated a pre-assessment mechanism for African agricultural products exported to China, enabling quality African goods such as Kenyan aquatic products and Malagasy mutton products to enter the Chinese market. The "integrated" supervision model for the export of construction machinery implemented in the Hunan Pilot Free Trade Zone Changsha Area Airport Block has opened up a new path for the convenient and rapid entry and exit of construction machinery through comprehensive bonded zones and for smooth global distribution. The China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone Chenzhou Area pioneered a new service model of "pilot-scale testing insurance + credit" across the province, effectively addressing hesitation to undertake pilot R&D and financing difficulties, thereby accelerating the critical transition from "1 to 10" for such projects.

With a greater emphasis on integrated innovation, the zone has taken concerted efforts to overcome major challenges. This batch of innovations focus on strengthening the integration of reform systems and moving from past isolated breakthroughs towards multi-departmental, multi-dimensional collaborative and synergic efforts. For example, the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone Yueyang Area has focused on the entire process of inspection, quarantine, and customs clearance for the import of bulk commodities. In collaboration with customs authorities, the Yueyang Area has introduced innovative practices such as a new mechanism for monitoring and early warning of biosafety risks posed by invasive alien species and a new collaborative model for inspection and supervision of imported grains, improving overall inspection efficiency by 60%. The Chenzhou Area implemented a land supply reform for industrial projects that synchronizes approval and land allocation, breaking away from the old practice of "approval before land supply." This allows enterprises to obtain the "four certificates" (land use permit, real estate ownership certificate, construction project planning permit, and construction permit) simultaneously upon acquiring land. The project land approval time has been reduced from 248 days to within 110 days, achieving "certificate issuance upon land delivery and construction commencement upon land acquisition."

With a stronger focus on problem-oriented approaches, innovation has been used as a tool to address development challenges. Achievements have centered on pain points and bottlenecks in industrial development and business operations, transforming "problem lists" into "achievement lists" of institutional innovation. For example, the Changsha Jinxia Economic and Technological Development Zone, serving as a coordination and linkage area of the China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, addressed issues faced by micro, small and medium-sized e-commerce enterprises, including a high volume of consolidated cargo, high inspection rates, and long inspection times. In collaboration with customs authorities, the zone took the lead in the province by implementing an "inspect-before-loading" supervision model for goods exported via the China-Europe freight trains. This model allows consolidated export cargo to enter designated supervised areas in batches as loose cargo, with customs declaration and inspection procedures completed in advance, eliminating repeated unpacking and repacking. This helps enterprises reduce costs and improve efficiency, empowering the China-Europe freight train service to progress at an accelerated pace.

Since its establishment more than five years ago, the Hunan Pilot Free Trade Zone has generated a cumulative total of 109 institutional innovations across three batches. Of these, seven have been replicated and promoted nationwide, and 11 have been promoted and recommended by national ministries and commissions.

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn