Guizhou to launch pilot program for cross-border trade in August

The Guizhou Branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued detailed implementation guidelines for a pilot program on high-level cross-border trade liberalization on June 16. The pilot program will begin on August 20, and will be carried out in three locations: Guiyang, Zunyi, and Tongren.

The initiative builds on the province's existing foreign exchange facilitation policies for enterprises by introducing eight measures to optimize practices in areas such as goods and services trade and multinational corporate treasury management.

The eight measures include streamlining foreign exchange settlement procedures for current account transactions, enhancing international trade settlement mechanisms, expanding the scope of netting settlement, eliminating the requirement for prior registration of overdue refunds in goods trade, improving cost-sharing processes for service trade, easing restrictions on foreign exchange purchases for expatriate employees, and simplifying consolidated fund settlement procedures for multinational enterprises.

Participating banks will be allowed to process foreign exchange transactions for qualified enterprises under flexible guidelines, while related rules will be revised to optimize services for settlements, refunds, and cost-sharing. These changes aim to reduce corporate capital costs and accelerate cash flow.

The centralized receipt and payment of funds by multinational enterprises will also become more streamlined, and eligible companies will benefit from quota exemptions for foreign exchange purchases by expatriate employees, thereby increasing efficiency in payroll management for international staff members.