(Yicai Global) Jan. 27 -- China’s southern metropolis Shenzhen intends to make it easier for foreign companies to enter its sectors involving technology, finance, and healthcare.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the commerce ministry mentioned 24 measures to further promote the city’s reform and opening-up in a document issued yesterday.

The government aims to explore more flexible and scientific policy and management systems and boost the development of the socialist market economy via the move, said Zhao Chenxin, secretary-general of the NDRC.

The plan is to establish a market-based international trading center for electronic components and integrated circuits. Trading of data elements and cross-border data business should be made more open. The environment of advanced technologies should be improved for better access. Meanwhile, the application methods of fifth-generation wireless networks and Internet of Things devices must be optimized. The city will support the establishment of organizations involving international standards.

The policy shift will gradually lower firms' entry barriers for 5G, IoT, and new infrastructure in relevant areas, said telecoms expert Fu Liang. "It increases local competition to activate the sector's vitality."

The document also proposed to ease market access in the communication industry, allowing eligible satellite companies to apply for qualifications to run mobile wireless and fixed wireless communication services nationwide while stimulating the development of the sector.

One of the mentioned sectors was finance. Shenzhen will step up its financial support to agricultural supply chains. It will promote connectivity in the insurance markets of Shenzhen, as well as the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao. The southern tech hub will also further facilitate cross-border trade settlement, according to the document.

Shenzhen will explore the use of digital yuan to expand the central bank digital currency's pilot application in the municipality. In October 2020, the city took the lead in testing the CBDC publicly.

The city in Guangdong province will launch a pilot, allowing people with insurance policies signed in Hong Kong or Macao to settle their medical bills at public hospitals via direct billing. Moreover, offshore drugs should be reimbursed.

The city called for relaxed market access restrictions for pharmaceutical companies and medical devices, as well as regarding pilots of prescription drugs sold online, and human genetic resources. Real-world data applications involving clinical evaluation of drugs and medical devices should be promoted.

Clinical trials are the most time-consuming and costly part of the process of developing an innovative medical device, said Ma Min, president of surgical robot company Tinavi Medical Technologies. Qualified medical firms could treat patients directly in the region that has a pilot with real-world data. This would open up clinical and commercial channels, enabling the industry to use the latest technology quicker, Ma added.

The online prescription drug pilot is of great benefit for healthcare platforms because it is the basis for the promotion of telemedicine and can provide more convenience for clients, Pan Helin, executive dean of a digital economy institute at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, said to Yicai Global. The pilot could solve some regulatory issues related to selling such restricted drugs online, Pan added.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi