The Information Office of Xi'an Municipal People's Government held a press conference on March 31 to mark the ninth anniversary of the development of the Xi'an area of China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Relevant officials attend the press conference. [Photo/Xi'an Release]
Zheng Wei, deputy director of the Xi'an municipal bureau of commerce, said at the press conference that since the China (Shaanxi) Pilot Free Trade Zone was inaugurated on April 1, 2017, it has explored and developed a total of 798 innovative cases.
Among them, 50 cases have been recognized and commended by the State Council and national ministries, 37 have been replicated and promoted nationwide, and 134 have been promoted across Shaanxi province.
In 2025, the Xi'an area ranked 15th among 57 free trade zone areas nationwide, and fifth among 27 inland free trade zone areas. Over the past nine years, the Xi'an area has registered more than 250,000 new business entities and over 1,200 foreign-invested enterprises. The number of new business entities is 10 times that before the zone's establishment, underscoring its leading role as a comprehensive pilot platform for reform and opening-up.
The Xi'an area has prioritized serving the development of new quality productive forces, using institutional innovation to empower emerging industries and new growth tracks. Financial innovation has driven industrial development, yielding three national-level institutional innovation achievements.
Three QFLP (Qualified Foreign Limited Partner) pilot funds have been introduced with a total scale of 680 million yuan ($98.77 million), broadening channels for overseas capital to invest in domestic high-tech industries.
Support has been provided to enterprises developing China's first domestically manufactured ion beam preparation device for ultra-hard carbon-based thin films, which is widely used in aerospace, optical components, precision manufacturing, and other fields. It fills domestic technological gaps and helps them compete internationally. The device's service life has increased by more than three times, and costs have decreased by nearly 70 percent.
Aviation maintenance has developed into an industrial cluster. Support has been provided for the construction of China's first in-depth aircraft landing gear maintenance base invested in and built by the original landing gear manufacturer. The base has obtained maintenance certifications from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and it has maintained more than 150 landing gear units in total and cultivated over 5,000 aviation maintenance professionals.
The pharmaceutical industry has embraced digital and intelligent transformation. Efforts have been made to build the country's largest standalone pharmaceutical warehouse, implementing digital and intelligent upgrades across the entire process, covering warehousing, management, supply, marketing, and services. Its overall operating costs have dropped by 75 percent, with annual sales exceeding 20 billion yuan, making it the largest pharmaceutical distribution hub in Northwest China.
The Xi'an area has taken the lead in developing the emerging low-altitude economy. It has supported the construction of the province's first intelligent test flight platform for civil unmanned aerial vehicles, which has been approved for a test flight airspace of 145.5 square kilometers. A total of 36 low-altitude economy enterprises have clustered in the area, and the industrial scale has increased by 40 percent year-on-year.
Guided by the development of the China–Europe Railway Express (Xi'an) Assembly Center and the international aviation hub, the Xi'an area has introduced more than 10 pioneering measures nationwide, significantly improving the efficiency of transport corridors.
To date, the China–Europe Railway Express (Xi'an) operates 18 international trunk routes and 26 domestic assembly routes, covering the entire Eurasian continent. It operated 6,037 physical trips in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 21.1 percent, ranking first nationwide for seven consecutive years.
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport now boasts 33 international all-cargo routes, 11 of which operate regularly. It has achieved coverage of five countries and eight cities in Central Asia. In 2025, its international cargo and mail throughput reached 334,800 metric tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.2 percent, ranking first among the country's top 10 airports.
The Xi'an area is committed to deepening substantive economic and trade cooperation and promoting people-to-people exchanges through institutional innovation, thereby enhancing its capacity and services in support of the Belt and Road Initiative.
It issued the province's first foreign entrepreneur visa and took the lead in piloting innovation and entrepreneurship programs for foreign talent, attracting a total of 17 foreign-funded enterprises to Shaanxi. Three immigration service centers have been established, and the "Million Talent Program" has been implemented, gathering more than 16,000 individuals in science and technology innovation.