The opening ceremony of the first banking institution settles in Beijing section of the Daxing Airport Area [Photo by Wang Yan in Daxing district, Beijing]

The Beijing Daxing free trade zone sub branch of the Agricultural Bank of China became the first banking institution in the Beijing section of the Daxing Airport Area to officially open on May 11.

More than ten other banks are actively promoting the establishment of their Daxing Free Trade Zone branches, which will provide the zone with more comprehensive financial services.

The Beijing section of the Daxing Airport Area is located in the China (Hebei) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The Hebei FTZ is comprised of the four sections of Hebei province's Xiongan, Zhengding and Caofeidian, and the Daxing Airport Area straddling Beijing and Hebei. The Beijing section of the Daxing Airport Area covers 9.97 square kilometers, roughly half of the overall size.

The Daxing Airport Area of the Hebei Pilot FTZ will mainly house international business trade in aviation logistics, aviation service, life and health care, technology innovation, and exhibitions and conferences. It will give full play to innovation policies and provide financial services to boost industrial development and serve as a demonstration area for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. 

At the beginning of 2020, a raft of institutional innovations were announced at a news conference in Beijing to make the Daxing Airport Area (Beijing section) a more attractive place for business and talent. 

The newly issued institutional innovations, 81 items in total, are aimed at fostering innovation and entrepreneurship by offering procedural convenience and attractive talent policies.

In addition, the area will work on the investment management system, trade development modes, and financial services and will eventually be a motivator for the area's internationalization and opening-up.

The Beijing section supports high-end and technology-intensive industries including aviation logistics, aviation technologies and biopharmaceuticals.

More institutional innovations are on their way to develop the Daxing Airport Area into a hub for international exchanges and leading aviation technologies.