The Xiamen Area of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone in East China's Fujian province has continued to promote institutional innovation. [Photo/VCG]

The Xiamen Area of the China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone in East China's Fujian province, which was approved by the State Council in 2015, has deepened reform and innovation, as well as created new opportunities for high-quality development, local news reported on April 7.

Positioned as a gateway for the country's higher-level reform and opening-up efforts, the Xiamen FTZ has continued to promote institutional innovation, offering the zone greater autonomy in reform and opening up key sectors, as well as building a new system for an open economy at a higher level.

Statistics show that in the past six years, the zone has implemented 448 innovative measures, such as the reform on the business registration system, the "single-window system" for international trade, and the reform separating permits from business licenses, among which 30 were replicated and promoted nationwide.

Authorities said that the zone has also bolstered efforts to improve its business environment to be in line with global standards, creating a world-class business environment that is based on market operation, governed by law, and up to international standards.

Over the years, a number of key platforms for the development of aviation maintenance, financial leasing, imported wine business, cross-border e-commerce, and integrated circuits have been cultivated, which have boosted the cluster development of the zone's competitive industries, injecting strong vitality into Xiamen's high-quality development.

The Global One-stop Aviation Maintenance Base is Xiamen's response to the country's call to build homegrown jumbo airliners. Xiamen's aviation maintenance industry has been growing and thriving since 1993. With more than 20 years of development, the city has grown into the largest one-stop aviation maintenance base in China.

The output of Xiamen's aircraft maintenance industry was nearly 14 billion yuan ($2.14 billion) in 2019, accounting for one-fourth of the nation's total.

Due to its unique advantages in its system and mechanisms, the Xiamen FTZ also witnessed a boom in its integrated circuits industry over recent years. The zone is now home to a cross-Straits integrated circuit industry cooperation pilot zone, as well as a research and development (R&D) base for the integrated circuits industry, which will help the zone build itself into a hub for integrated circuit R&D across the Straits.