The integrated authorization reform in Sichuan Province, having completed a pilot phase exceeding one year, is now in the process of scale expansion and quality improvement. As the reporter recently learned from the Office of the Commission for Deepening Overall Reform of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, after the approval at the eighth meeting of the Provincial Commission for Deepening Overall Reform, the second batch of pilot areas for Sichuan Province's integrated authorization reform, comprising nine locations, has been officially announced. Additionally, the 2024 annual list of 110 provincial-level authorized support matters for the first batch of pilot regions has also been released.

The nine locations selected for the second batch of pilot areas encompass: two national-level high-tech zones, namely Chengdu High-tech Industrial Development Zone and Leshan High-Tech Industrial Development Zone; two provincial-level high-tech zones, Ziyang High-Tech Industrial Zone and Yibin High-Tech Industrial Park; as well as economic and technological development zones in Guang'an, Suining, Mianyang, Neijiang, and Ya'an. These regions were chosen based on a range of indicators and factors, including their development foundation and potential, capacity for influence and leadership, ability to handle administrative responsibilities, status of market entities, economic scale, and regional distribution. Currently, the two batches of pilot areas in Sichuan Province cover 14 cities (prefectures), comprising a total of 18 new areas and development zones. This expansion has resulted in the inclusion of all national- and provincial-level new areas. Among these, Chengdu has three pilot areas, while Mianyang and Yibin each have two pilot areas.

The 2024 annual list of provincial-level authorized support matters for the first batch of pilot areas mainly comprises eight matters that provincial departments (units) intend to delegate or entrust to these areas, along with a total of 102 matters supported by the province. The authorized matters include highly significant initiatives, such as the confirmation of assessment for small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises. Meanwhile, provincial support matters cover domains such as supporting innovation in fiscal and taxation administration systems. A relevant leading official from the Office of the Provincial Commission for Deepening Overall Reform stated that in the future, they will continue to refine the mechanism for advancing the pilot work, implement regular assessments and updates on the progress of provincial-level authorized support matters, and incorporate the results of the pilot development into the annual performance assessment of reform targets for the respective cities (prefectures) and departments.

The integrated authorization reform pilot is an original reform initiative actively planned and launched by the provincial Party committee, officially commencing at the beginning of last year. The primary objective is to demonstrate and drive the accelerated development of other parks, thereby creating more growth points for high-quality economic development. Last year, nine new areas and development zones, including Sichuan Tianfu New Area and Chengdu Eastern New Area, were selected for the province's first batch of pilots. In the same year, these nine pilot areas recorded an average growth rate of 12.7 percent in their gross regional product, outperforming the provincial average by 6.7 percentage points.