China has expanded its pilot free trade zones (FTZ) to 23 with the establishment of the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the latest move in the country's sustained push for high-standard opening up, according to a plan made public by the State Council Thursday.

The plan grants the new pilot FTZ in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region greater reform autonomy and encourages pioneering, integrated and differentiated exploration across a wider range of areas and at a deeper level.

It specifies 19 reform and innovation measures, including developing border trade in an innovative way, strengthening international logistics services, improving the efficiency of technology transfer and application, and expanding external exchanges across multiple fields.

The establishment of the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot Free Trade Zone is an important strategic move to further deepen reforms comprehensively, advance high-standard opening up, and promote high-quality development, according to the plan.

The pilot FTZ covers 119.74 square kilometers and comprises three subzones in Hohhot, capital of the autonomous region, Manzhouli, a northern border city, and Erenhot, a land port on the China-Mongolia border, each tasked with differentiated functions and the development of industries tailored to local conditions.

"It's a strategic and timely move that filled a gap in China's border opening-up in the north and created new space for China to further open up," said Fan Lijun, director of the Belt and Road Initiative Research Institute at the Inner Mongolia Academy of Social Sciences.

The plan aims to build the pilot FTZ into a hub for information exchange, transportation and logistics, allocation of factor resources, sci-tech innovation and industrial cooperation in key areas, connecting domestic and international markets while radiating to neighboring regions.

The FTZ will fully leverage its role as an important bridgehead for China's opening-up to the north, and strive to become a high-level FTZ featuring convenient investment and trade, a sound innovation ecosystem, clustering of competitive industries, and vibrant international exchanges.

"The FTZ, as a pacesetter for institutional innovation, will give Inner Mongolia more authority to 'break the ice' in key areas," said Qu Jian, vice president of the China Development Institute, a think tank based in Shenzhen.

China had earlier established 22 pilot FTZs in areas including Shanghai, Guangdong, Liaoning, Hainan, Shandong and Beijing. The previous addition was the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in 2023.

Since the establishment of the first FTZ in Shanghai in 2013, China's FTZs have achieved remarkable results in institutional innovation. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), over 200 institutional innovations were rolled out, with landmark measures such as the negative list for foreign investment optimizing the country's business environment.

China aims to open wider to the world, as its latest five-year blueprint puts emphasis on improved regional planning for opening up.

The country will move faster toward all-around opening up through links running eastward and westward, across land, and over sea, according to the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).

The establishment of the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot Free Trade Zone fully aligns with the goal set in the outline, and it will serve as a key platform for implementing opening-up measures, Fan said.