Beijing links its FTZ policy pool to 11 zones outside the fence: the FTZ Linkage Development Zones Work Plan
- In late August / early September 2026, Beijing’s “Two Zones” (Beijing FTZ + national comprehensive demonstration zone for further opening of the services sector) leading group printed and distributed the Work Plan on Building the Beijing FTZ Linkage Development Zones (document 两区〔2026〕1号, dated 6 August 2026).
2026年8月底至9月初，”两区”工作领导小组印发《中国（北京）自由贸易试验区联动发展区建设工作方案》（两区〔2026〕1号，成文日期2026年8月6日），对外发布。
- The Plan designates 11 linkage development zones with a total area of 119.20 square kilometres across seven districts hosting FTZ clusters (Haidian, Changping, Chaoyang, Shunyi, Tongzhou, Daxing, E-Town) and four further districts (Fengtai, Shijingshan, Mentougou, Huairou), anchored on four industries: medicine & health, artificial intelligence, integrated circuits and commercial aerospace.
方案确定11个联动发展区、总面积119.20平方公里，覆盖海淀、昌平、朝阳、顺义、通州、大兴、亦庄七个自贸组团所在区及丰台、石景山、门头沟、怀柔四区，聚焦医药健康、人工智能、集成电路、商业航天四大产业。
- The design is an “industry + region” linkage system: rather than replicating FTZ policies everywhere, each linkage zone is paired with specific FTZ clusters so that policy strengths (e.g. data cross-border flows, stem-cell and gene-therapy opening, biomedical special-items customs clearance) can spill over to businesses located outside the FTZ.
方案首创”产业+区域”联动体系：并非在各地复制自贸政策，而是让各联动区与特定自贸组团结对，使数据跨境流动、干细胞与基因诊疗技术开发应用开放、生物医药特殊物品通关等政策红利外溢到区外企业。
- For medicine & health, the Plan builds a “Changping R&D and pilot-testing — E-Town, Daxing and Mentougou manufacturing — Tongzhou medical-industry synergy — Huairou enablement and innovation validation — Shunyi trade circulation” chain, sharing review-and-approval, cross-border finance, foreign-related legal and IP services.
医药健康领域构建”昌平研发中试—亦庄、大兴、门头沟智造—通州医产协同—怀柔赋能及创新验证—顺义贸易流通”联动体系，共享审评审批、跨境金融、涉外法律、知识产权等服务。
- For foreign investors, the linkage zones are a location-strategy signal: companies in life sciences, AI, chips and aerospace that need Beijing FTZ-type openness but do not want to locate inside the FTZ now have a formal mechanism to tap the same policy pool, with zone-level co-ordination bodies to follow.
对外资投资者而言，联动发展区是一个选址信号：需要北京自贸区式开放、又不愿把实体落在自贸区内的生命科学、人工智能、芯片与航天企业，如今有了接入同一政策池的正式机制，后续将建立区级协调机构。
Beijing links its FTZ policy pool to 11 zones outside the fence: the FTZ Linkage Development Zones Work Plan | 北京”政策破墙”：11个自贸联动发展区如何把自贸红利带给区外企业
Overview
In early September 2026, Beijing publicised the Work Plan on Building the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone Linkage Development Zones (《中国（北京）自由贸易试验区联动发展区建设工作方案》), a document of the “Two Zones” leading group (两区〔2026〕1号, dated 6 August 2026). The Plan responds to a concrete problem: companies inside the Beijing FTZ enjoy institutional openness — data cross-border flows, opening of stem-cell and gene-therapy technology development and application, and customs facilitation for special biomedical items — while companies immediately outside, which often form the same industrial chain, do not. Rather than expanding the FTZ’s physical border, Beijing is building a linkage mechanism so that FTZ policy strengths spill over to chosen zones outside it.
The “industry + region” design
The Plan selects four industries with international competitiveness as the anchor: the trillion-yuan-class medicine & health sector, the hundred-billion-yuan-class AI and integrated-circuit sectors, and the future-industry commercial aerospace sector. It then defines 11 linkage development zones covering 119.20 square kilometres:
- the seven districts that host FTZ clusters — Haidian, Changping, Chaoyang, Shunyi, Tongzhou, Daxing and E-Town (亦庄/Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area); and
- four further districts — Fengtai, Shijingshan, Mentougou and Huairou.
Zones were chosen on the principles of “sound industrial base, strong policy demand, clear spatial boundaries and workable management mechanisms”. The core working method is institutional docking (制度对接), industrial interconnection (产业互联) and platform integration (平台融通) between the FTZ clusters and the linkage zones.
Four industry chains
Medicine & health. Anchored on the Changping and E-Town clusters with Shunyi as the trade hub, the Plan builds the chain “Changping R&D and pilot-testing — E-Town, Daxing and Mentougou intelligent manufacturing — Tongzhou medical-industry synergy — Huairou enablement and innovation validation — Shunyi trade circulation“. Concretely:
- Changping linkage zone co-operates on R&D and pilot-testing for medicine & health and synthetic biology;
- E-Town linkage zone handles commercialisation of science results and industrialisation co-ordination;
- Daxing linkage zone shares drug and device manufacturing and review-and-approval resources;
- Mentougou linkage zone provides cardiovascular innovative drug-device R&D and smart-manufacturing resources;
- Tongzhou linkage zone deepens medical-industry integration;
- Huairou linkage zone supplies basic research and validation-and-transformation support.
The Plan also calls for joint breakthroughs on core technology bottlenecks in innovative drugs, synthetic biology and high-end medical devices; shared laboratories, medical-device prototype workshops, large-science facilities and pilot bases; and shared services in review and approval, cross-border finance, foreign-related law and IP.
Artificial intelligence. Anchored on Haidian and E-Town, the chain runs “Haidian original innovation — Shijingshan humanoid-robot training — Shunyi intelligent-driving vehicle R&D — E-Town, Chaoyang, Fengtai and Mentougou application — Mentougou computing power”, with shared computing resources, a co-ordinated AI computing-power scheduling platform, high-quality industry datasets and intelligent annotation platforms.
Integrated circuits. The chain runs “Haidian design — E-Town and Shunyi manufacturing — Chaoyang optoelectronics — Huairou original innovation and testing”, with industry-university-research innovation consortia, expanded advanced-process chip supply, and shared hardware-emulation, testing-validation and optoelectronic-packaging platforms.
Commercial aerospace. The chain runs “Haidian constellation R&D — Fengtai satellite application services — E-Town rocket R&D — Shijingshan deep-space exploration”, with result-transformation and supply-demand matching mechanisms and shared public services for test validation, pilot transformation and prototype manufacturing.
Why the linkage zones exist
Beijing’s “Two Zones” office explains the motivation in three layers:
- Beijing FTZ enterprises need partners outside the FTZ for R&D innovation, high-end equipment, public platforms and application scenarios;
- companies outside the FTZ have strong demand for FTZ-type policies — data cross-border flows, openness of stem-cell and gene-therapy technology development and application, and customs clearance of special biomedical items;
- the linkage zones serve as Beijing’s own higher-level autonomous opening, implementing the central document on upgrading the free-trade-pilot-zone strategy.
The result is a systematic answer to a common complaint of foreign and domestic high-tech firms: “the policy is across the street but not for us”.
What this means for investors
- A formal route to FTZ-type policy without FTZ location. Companies that anchor R&D or manufacturing in Haidian, Daxing, Mentougou, Huairou and other linkage zones can expect the same review-and-approval, cross-border data and customs facilitation agenda to be extended through zone-level co-ordination — worth verifying case by case with the relevant district.
- Life-sciences value chain re-mapping. The medicine & health chain maps clear roles: R&D and pilot-testing in Changping, manufacturing in E-Town/Daxing/Mentougou, medical-industry synergy in Tongzhou, validation support in Huairou, trade in Shunyi. Foreign drug and device firms planning Beijing operations can now choose a site by chain position rather than by proximity alone.
- AI and chip players should watch computing and dataset platforms. Shared AI computing-power scheduling and industry-dataset/annotation platforms imply subsidised or co-ordinated infrastructure; firms whose work is compute-heavy should evaluate Mentougou and the co-ordination platforms.
- Implementation pace will be district-specific. The Plan is framework-level; each linkage zone is expected to develop concrete implementation measures, project pipelines and service packages. Early movers engaging district authorities now may shape those packages.
Practical steps
- Map your Beijing operations against the four chains to identify which linkage zone matches your activity.
- Approach the relevant district’s “Two Zones” office to confirm which FTZ policy items have been (or will be) extended to the linkage zone and through which procedures.
- For biomedical firms, review the stem-cell/gene-therapy and special-items customs facilitation pipeline, and whether your planned site can access the shared review-and-approval services.
- For AI/chip firms, evaluate the shared computing, dataset and testing platforms as location or co-operation options.
- Track each linkage zone’s implementation measures as they are released during late 2026.
Sources
- 北京市人民政府门户网站 — “两区”工作领导小组关于印发《中国（北京）自由贸易试验区联动发展区建设工作方案》的通知（两区〔2026〕1号）: https://www.beijing.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengcefagui/202609/t20260904_4850659.html
- 北京市商务局 — 《中国（北京）自由贸易试验区联动发展区建设工作方案》政策解读: https://sw.beijing.gov.cn/zwxx/2024zcjd/202609/t20260904_4850606.html
- 央视网 — 设立11个自贸试验区联动发展区 协同布局四大重点产业: https://city.news.cctv.com/2026/09/01/ARTIsH2heuLNbNftPbkl2M9b260901.shtml
- 人民网北京频道 — 北京划定11个自由贸易试验区联动发展区: https://bj.people.com.cn/n2/2026/0904/c14540-41686517.html
Related reading
- see also: how FTZ setups work and typical incentives for foreign investors (ftz-setup-basics)
- see also: Beijing’s services-sector opening and “Two Zones” agenda (beijing-two-zones-opening)
北京”政策破墙”：11个自贸联动发展区如何把自贸红利带给区外企业
概述
2026年9月初，北京对外发布《中国（北京）自由贸易试验区联动发展区建设工作方案》（两区〔2026〕1号，成文日期2026年8月6日）。方案回应一个具体难题：北京自贸区内企业享有制度型开放——数据跨境流动、干细胞与基因诊疗技术开发应用开放、生物医药特殊物品通关便利——而仅一街之隔、往往同处一条产业链的区外企业却享受不到。北京的选择不是扩大自贸区物理边界，而是建立联动机制，让自贸政策红利外溢到精选的区外区域。
“产业+区域”的设计
方案筛选出四大具有国际竞争力的产业作为联动核心：万亿级的医药健康、千亿级的人工智能与集成电路、未来产业的商业航天。据此确定11个联动发展区，总面积119.20平方公里：
- 7个自贸组团所在区——海淀、昌平、朝阳、顺义、通州、大兴、亦庄；
- 4个其他区——丰台、石景山、门头沟、怀柔。
选区的原则是”产业基础好、政策诉求强、空间边界清、管理机制顺”。核心工作方法是自贸组团与联动区之间的制度对接、产业互联、平台融通。
四条产业链
医药健康。 以昌平组团、亦庄组团为基点，顺义组团为枢纽，构建”昌平研发中试—亦庄、大兴、门头沟智造—通州医产协同—怀柔赋能及创新验证—顺义贸易流通“联动体系。具体分工：
- 昌平联动区协同开展医药健康与合成生物产业研发中试；
- 亦庄联动区承接科技成果落地与产业化协作；
- 大兴联动区共享药品药械制造、审评审批资源；
- 门头沟联动区提供心血管创新药械研发智造资源；
- 通州联动区深化医产融合发展；
- 怀柔联动区提供基础研究与验证转化支撑。
方案要求围绕创新药、合成生物、高端医疗器械开展协同攻关，共享实验室、医疗器械样机制作平台、大科学装置、中试基地，并提供审评审批、跨境金融、涉外法律、知识产权等服务。
人工智能。 以海淀组团、亦庄组团为基点，构建”海淀策源—石景山人形机器人训练—顺义智能驾驶汽车研发—亦庄、朝阳、丰台、门头沟应用—门头沟算力”联动体系，共享算力资源与平台设施，共建人工智能算力资源协同调度平台、高质量行业数据集和智能化标注平台。
集成电路。 构建”海淀设计—亦庄、顺义制造—朝阳光电—怀柔原始创新及测试”联动体系，组建产学研创新联合体，提升先进制程芯片规模化供给能力，共享公共硬件仿真平台、集成电路测试验证平台、光电芯片封装测试验证平台。
商业航天。 构建”海淀星座研发—丰台卫星应用服务—亦庄火箭研发—石景山深空探测”联动体系，建立研发成果转化与供需对接机制，共享试验验证、中试转化、打样制造等全链条公共服务。
为什么要设联动发展区
北京”两区”工作领导小组办公室从三个层面解释动因：
- 自贸区内企业在研发创新攻坚、高端设备配套、公共平台共享、应用场景拓展上需要与区外企业协作；
- 区外企业对数据跨境流动、干细胞与基因诊疗技术开发和应用开放、生物医药特殊物品通关等政策需求强烈；
- 设立联动区是落实《中共中央、国务院关于实施自由贸易试验区提升战略的意见》、服务全产业链创新发展、探索更高水平自主开放的重要抓手。
方案系统回应了内外资高科技企业的常见抱怨：”政策就在街对面，但不适用于我们。”
对投资者的意义
- 不落自贸区也能接入自贸政策池的正式通道。 把研发或制造布局在海淀、大兴、门头沟、怀柔等联动区的企业，可望通过区级协调获得与自贸区同向的审评审批、跨境数据与通关便利——具体条目与程序需与所在区逐一核实。
- 生命科学价值链重新布局。 医药健康链的角色划分清晰：昌平做研发中试、亦庄/大兴/门头沟做智造、通州做医产协同、怀柔做验证支撑、顺义做贸易。计划布局北京的外资药械企业可按链上位置选址，而非只看远近。
- AI与芯片企业应关注算力与数据平台。 共享算力调度、行业数据集与标注平台意味着有组织的基础设施供给；算力密集型企业应评估门头沟及协同平台。
- 落地节奏因区而异。 方案是框架性的；各联动区将出台具体实施办法、项目清单与服务包。现在与区级部门接洽的先行者可能影响这些配套的成型。
实务建议
- 对照四条产业链梳理自身北京业务，判断匹配哪个联动区。
- 联系所在区”两区”办，确认哪些自贸政策条目已（或将）延伸到联动区、通过何种程序。
- 生物医药企业核查干细胞/基因治疗与特殊物品通关便利管线，确认计划选址能否接入共享审评审批服务。
- AI与芯片企业把共享算力、数据集与测试平台作为选址或合作选项评估。
- 跟踪2026年下半年各联动区陆续发布的实施办法。
来源
- 北京市人民政府门户网站 — “两区”工作领导小组关于印发《中国（北京）自由贸易试验区联动发展区建设工作方案》的通知（两区〔2026〕1号）: https://www.beijing.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengcefagui/202609/t20260904_4850659.html
- 北京市商务局 — 《中国（北京）自由贸易试验区联动发展区建设工作方案》政策解读: https://sw.beijing.gov.cn/zwxx/2024zcjd/202609/t20260904_4850606.html
- 央视网 — 设立11个自贸试验区联动发展区 协同布局四大重点产业: https://city.news.cctv.com/2026/09/01/ARTIsH2heuLNbNftPbkl2M9b260901.shtml
- 人民网北京频道 — 北京划定11个自由贸易试验区联动发展区: https://bj.people.com.cn/n2/2026/0904/c14540-41686517.html
相关阅读
- 见：自贸区落地机制与外资企业典型激励（ftz-setup-basics）
- 见：北京服务业扩大开放与”两区”议程（beijing-two-zones-opening）