Officials of three pilot free trade zones (FTZs) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region announced 18 collaborative innovation achievements on Nov. 19 at a meeting in Tianjin, marking a milestone in synchronized regional development.

At the meeting, officials signed a collaborative action plan aimed at strengthening efforts in key sectors, including the digital economy, modern logistics and biomedicine.

The collaborative push is already yielding substantial results, particularly in the biomedicine and health industry cluster. This sector now comprises more than 6,000 enterprises with a total output value exceeding 400 billion yuan ($56.2 billion).

"Policy optimizations across the three regions have created a fully integrated supply chain for biomedicine," said Liu Daogang, Party secretary of the Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine.

Liu cited coordinated law enforcement, simplified customs clearance, and streamlined passage as key measures that enable seamless operations from raw materials and R&D to manufacturing and sales.

Enterprises are capitalizing on this integrated environment. Qi Biodesign, headquartered in Beijing's Changping district and with laboratories in Tianjin and Hebei, is a prime example.

"We leverage Beijing's talent and industry strength for medical product R&D, while utilizing the policy advantages and resources of Tianjin and Hebei for grain product experiments," said Ran Yidong, the company's director of genetic transformation.

The Changping district, a core part of the Science and Technology Innovation Area of the China (Beijing) Pilot FTZ, reported significant successes, including the establishment of the country's first international research-oriented hospital. It has also nurtured the first domestically developed innovative drug with global sales exceeding $1 billion.

"This collaboration has helped companies establish operations across the region, with R&D headquarters in Changping, pilot-scale incubation in Tianjin and production conversion in Qinhuangdao," said Guo Ying, director of the Commerce Bureau of Beijing's Changping district.

Significant improvements in cross-border trade convenience were also announced, especially for cultural artifacts. A new agreement between the customs offices of Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang allows a single application and guarantee for cultural artworks to be displayed in a bonded status across all three locations, eliminating previous bureaucratic hurdles.

In government services, the three areas have achieved consistent standards and cross-provincial coordination. Measures like a simplified "one-click migration" for business relocation and standardized credit evaluations have compressed the average approval time for cross-city enterprise moves by 90%, while corporate credit reports are now mutually recognized across the region.