Enhancing the Construction of Foreign-related Legal Systems and Mechanisms for Free Trade Zones (Ports)
Zhong Jia1, Huang Huikang2
1.China-ASEAN Legal Research Center, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing 401120, China 2.Academy of International Law and Global Governance, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Abstract:High-quality development and high-standard opening-up are the primary tasks in the drive toward Chinese modernization. As the world’s most advanced form of institutional opening-up today, Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and Free Trade Ports (FTPs) of China embody the deployment of the country’s major development strategies. The foreign-related rule of law embodies the core competitiveness of a country engaging in international rivalry, providing crucial legal services and guarantees for the high-quality development of free trade zones (ports). Centering on the core task of establishing a foreign-related rule of law system and capacity compatible with the requirements of high-standard opening-up, this study systematically reviews the development trajectory of China’s Pilot Free Trade Zones (CFTZs)—from their groundbreaking launch in Shanghai to comprehensive expansion across coastal, inland and border regions—as well as the institutional design and customs clearance operation practices of Hainan Free Trade Port (HNFP) as an upgraded model. It further elucidates the core role of CFTZs in advancing institutional innovation, aligning with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and facilitating trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.At present, the construction of FTZs and FTPs has put in place a legal framework anchored in the Hainan Free Trade Port Law and underpinned by a suite of policy documents, and generated a portfolio of replicable and promotable institutional outcomes in critical domains including investment governance, trade supervision and financial opening. However, in practice, there are still prominent challenges in the implementation of policies and laws, specifically manifested as the authorization dilemma arising from the misaligned distribution of administrative and legislative competences between the central and local authorities, the alignment impasse caused by the lack of coherence between domestic regulatory regimes and high-standard international rules, and the safeguarding difficulty due to the inconsistency between legal guarantees and the reform process. These issues have hindered the comprehensive construction of a world-class business environment underpinned by marketization, the rule of law and internationalization.To overcome the aforementioned challenges, it is essential to adopt a dual-driven approach of “reform and the rule of law” as the fundamental pathway, with coordinated efforts focused on three dimensions. First, it is imperative to optimize the domestic legal framework for authorization by refining central authorization and enhancing the legislative empowerment of local governments to rationalize the division of administrative and legislative authorities between the central and local tiers. Second, it is necessary to proactively benchmark against and integrate high-standard international economic and trade rules (e.g., the CPTPP and DEPA), and draw upon globally recognized business environment assessment systems to develop a world-class evaluation criteria system for business environments with Chinese characteristics. Third, it is of vital importance to expedite the fundamental transition from policy-oriented governance to rule-of-law governance, to construct a systematic, comprehensive, transparent, stable and predictable legal and regulatory regime for China’s FTZs and FTPs and to reinforce risk prevention and control mechanisms, and in particular, fortify the security bottom line in critical domains including cross-border data transfers, financial liberalization, and public health governance.The foreign-related rule of law in China’s FTZs and FTPs constitutes an integral part of the nation’s foreign-related rule of law framework. Its construction efficacy bears a direct correlation with both the depth of high-standard opening-up and the security of such opening-up initiatives. In the future, it is imperative to uphold institutional innovation as the core tenet, harmonize domestic rule of law with foreign-related rule of law, deepen institutional opening-up along the path of rule of law, provide solid legal safeguards for the execution of FTZ and FTP upgrading strategies, and contribute to the establishment of an advanced and comprehensively new open economic system.
钟佳, 黄惠康. 加强自由贸易区(港)涉外法治体制机制建设[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2025, 55(12): 35-49.
Zhong Jia, Huang Huikang. Enhancing the Construction of Foreign-related Legal Systems and Mechanisms for Free Trade Zones (Ports). JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2025, 55(12): 35-49.