On November 4, the second China FTA Strategy Forum, themed "FTA-FTZ: The Stress Field of China's Outward Shaping and Inward Reform" and co-organized by WTO Chair at UIBE was held at East China Normal University. Over 300 experts and scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on China's opening-up strategy against the backdrop of profound adjustments in the global economic and trade landscape.

Meng Zhongjie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of East China Normal University, stated that with the China International Import Expo (CIIE) approaching, China's firm determination to further open up is evident. He emphasized the critical importance of accurately grasping the dialectical relationship between "opening up" and "internal reform": externally, there is a need to implement a more proactive free trade strategy, enhance industrial chain resilience, and participate in global governance; internally, it is essential to use Pilot Free Trade Zones (FTZs) and the Hainan Free Trade Port as "pressure testing grounds" to pioneer trials in areas behind the border such as cross-border data flow and intellectual property protection, thereby providing replicable and promotable experience. East China Normal University will leverage platforms like the China FTA Strategy Research Institute to focus on key issues such as institutional opening-up, providing support for high-quality development in the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Shou Ziqi, Standing Committee Member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPPCC, and Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Federation of Industry and Commerce, expressed that the forum closely aligns with the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee, focusing on academic discussion and practical exploration of the FTA strategy, reflecting East China Normal University's high level of consciousness and sense of responsibility in implementing the Party Central Committee's decisions and deployments. He fully affirmed the significant contributions of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone as a "testing ground" for reform and opening up and put forward three suggestions: first, maintain strategic resolve to promote higher-quality development of FTZs through higher-level opening up; second, adhere to institutional innovation to fulfill the strategic mission of FTZs; third, enhance coordinated linkages to build synergy for FTZ development.

Regarding the construction of Pilot FTZs, experts proposed specific pathways for deepening institutional innovation. Currently, the 22 Pilot FTZs and the Hainan Free Trade Port nationwide need to shift from pursuing "policy preferences" to advancing "institutional innovation," conducting more pioneering and integrated explorations. Key breakthroughs are needed in reforming challenges related to behind-the-border rules such as cross-border data flow, intellectual property protection, and green standards, coupled with the courage to conduct pressure tests for high-standard international economic and trade rules. FTZ development still faces issues such as the weakening "coupon effect" of institutional innovation, homogenization and "involution" in industrial development, and the "last mile" problem in policy implementation, which require addressing institutional and mechanistic obstacles.

The forum also delved into the synergistic development mechanism between Pilot FTZs and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Experts unanimously agreed that together they form a dynamic, organic "rules circulation" system. Pilot FTZs serve as "laboratories" for international rules, conducting localized trial-and-error and adaptive modifications of high-standard trade rules. Successfully validated rules can, on one hand, be promoted internationally through FTA negotiations, transforming "Chinese experience" into "international rules," and on the other hand, be replicated and scaled up domestically. This mechanism marks an important shift in China's opening up from "integrating with international norms" to "laying down tracks."

The forum was hosted by the School of Economics and Management and the China FTA Strategy Research Institute of East China Normal University, and co-organized by the Institute of Free Trade Zones of Sun Yat-sen University, the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, the Free Trade Zone Research Institute of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and the Jiefang Daily · Shangguan Think Tank.