(Yicai Global) Jan. 25 -- China's central  administration has proposed to set up a cross-border online shopping  pilot zone in Xiong'an New Area, the urban belt surrounding Beijing,  along with a lowered threshold for foreign companies to access the  country. 

The government supports the establishment  of a global digital trading platform in Xiong'an New Area so as to  offer convenience for cross-border payments, a document that the Central  Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council jointly released  yesterday shows. The two authorities are the top administrative bodies in China. 

President Xi Jinping rebranded the large  wasteland about 100 kilometers southwest from Beijing with the fresh  name of Xiong'an New Area in April 2017. The central government made a  2018-2035 master plan to turn the area into a green low-rise hub akin to  Washington or Canberra to attract some of the residents and  institutions of the overcrowded Beijing to settle in. 

The administration promotes the  establishment of foreign-owned financial companies or joint ventures  with local partners in Xiong'an, and will ease or cancel limitations on  equity ratios as soon as possible when conditions permit, yesterday's  document added. 

The authorities will allow companies that  specialize in investing in overseas equities to set up shop in the new  city. They will assist investors that meet the conditions to establish  foreign equity funds. The administration will innovate in terms of how  to manage local and foreign currency accounts. It will permit  multinational corporations' headquarters located in Xiong'an to settle  transactions both in Chinese yuan and foreign currencies. 

Regulators  will also loosen the control of foreign exchanges to offer easier  access for foreign investors to invest in Xiong'an and to accelerate the  internationalization of the Chinese yuan.

The government supports international  authorities such as arbitration, certification and accreditation bodies  to settle in the area to build mechanisms that can solve business  disputes. Supportive policies involving public finance and technologies  will be equally available for domestic and foreign-funded firms.

Editor: Emmi Laine